What Lies Ahead
by Sstarshine
Summary: Black and Ghetsis face each other in the final battle. Only one will escape alive and determine his own future and also the future of the people who have always believed in him. (Agencyshipping & a little bit of Corruptedshipping)
1. Chapter 1: Checkmate

**After some regular updates of the B2W2 chapter, at least we can know that it is finally making progress (yayyy!). There will be time in the future when people stop making those "theories" about what will happen after Black returns, I guess so (I'm sorry if I'm wrong), so I think I'm going to complete one of my last attempts to write about B2W2's ending.**

**I know the theme has a lot of "overused scenarios" but hey, give this one a try, there are a lot of ideas I've saved for independent stories but I decide to use them all for this story. More characters also appear or get mentioned. Hope you'll be able to find something nice and new that you enjoy!**

**Again, everything is in English but nicknames are in Japanese. It can't be helped!**

**Focus: Agencyshipping and Corruptedshipping.**

**Here is the first chapter of the story!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Pokéspe.**

* * *

**CHAPTER 1 – CHECKMATE**

She was looking at those two people who were fighting far in front of her and a building suddenly collapsed right on top of them. It formed a big cloud of dust, obstructing her view completely.

"ARGHHH!"

For one short moment that she was distracted, the Shadow Triad member's Bisharp successfully landed a Night Slash on her shoulder—would have been on the throat had Amanda not pushed her back and shielded the girl with her own body. The pokémon immediately counterattacked with a Leaf Blade but it was not very effective.

"Yunibou!"

She sent out her Reuniclus, the only pokémon that could actually be useful in this situation, also her last pokémon beside Amanda. He had been eager for battle since the beginning but she had to keep him in reserve because of the type disadvantage. Now the time finally came, and there was no running from a trainer battle. Yunibou immediately used psychic power to receive a direction through telepathy without being heard.

_"We only have one shot, otherwise it will tear us apart. So please, make it count!"_

The cell pokémon blinked in understanding. Amanda was buying time for Yunibou to charge the energy shot but she could not hold any longer.

"NOW!"

Yunibou's Focus Blast landed a direct hit on the enemy Bisharp's chest, resulting in a deafening explosion before its armor shattered into pieces.

It was defeated.

"Not so fast, fucker!"

Amanda instantly wrapped herself around the Shadow Triad member's body before he could teleport away. She received a nod from White and tightened the grip until both of them could hear his bones cracking. His ear-splitting screams reverberated through the battlefield and a vine angrily slapped him in the face to shut his mouth. More vines were climbing to his neck and strangled him to death.

White was not feeling any mercy at all.

Amanda then let go of the lifeless body and returned to the girl.

"Your master will join you soon!"

She cursed quietly while checking the wound on her shoulder. A deep cut was bleeding badly but that could not even bother her. The girl only cared about the safety of that person behind that thick cloud of dust. With one hand gripping Amanda while Yunibou was already leading the way, she slowly and carefully proceeded towards the building now lying in ruins.

_He can't die!_

_..._

* * *

...

And here he was, standing in the midst of the battlefield with nothing in his hands. No weapons, no pokémon.

The black, brutal pokémon carrying a man was getting closer and, within a few seconds, landed right in front of him. Its flaps created a strong air current that almost struck him down. He stood his ground, awaiting what happened next.

"Tired of playing hide and seek?"

He bit his lips, trying to think straight as one wrong calculation might cause the plan to fail.

_I'm not going to lose myself in this pathetic mind game._

"Black, the most famous loudmouth in Unova, the champion… has surrendered. What happened to you? Cat got your tongue?"

"…"

"Thanks to my Kyurem, you were finally released from the Light Stone. You should at least say thank you to Lord Ghetsis—"

"FUCK YOU!"

"My, my! So rude. You need to learn some manners."

Immediately, the black pokémon grabbed him with its front leg and lifted him off the ground. Its sharp, ice-cold claws dug into his flesh and caused it to bleed, but there was nothing he could do about it.

"But Lord Ghetsis is a tolerant man. I don't hold grudges for very long. In fact, I admire you for making it this far. That's why I promise, I will let you die so quickly that you won't even feel your death approaching…"

"…Kyurem, Dragon Claw!"

The creature raised its leg and was ready to deliver the coup de grâce. Black closed his eyes, knowing that the moment finally came.

…

A thin, almost invisible thread was shot at Ghetsis and wrapped around his neck, nearly pulling him to the ground from the back of Kyurem. More threads were shot at the black pokémon and wrapped around its body. A strong electric current was sent through the threads to the vile duo in an attempt to paralyze them. Black could also feel it through the leg that Kyurem was holding him—the grip was loosened.

"That's it!" he yelled ecstatically. "Light them up, Tula!"

Kyurem roared angrily and swung its other leg in the air, grabbing all those threads and pulling Tula out of his cover. The spider pokémon cut his own thread and landed safely on the debris far across the street.

"FINISH THAT BUG!"

Kyurem fired a massive ice beam at Tula. A huge explosion erupted, causing debris to fly all over the place. Black could not see whether it had missed Tula or not, but seeing his friend being hurt right in front of his eyes made him want to kill Ghetsis more than anything else.

"Hah… Do you really think," Ghetsis said in short pants, "one little bug… can defeat… mighty Kyurem?"

No, it definitely could not. And Black was also not stupid. Tula had finished his part and Black was certain that nothing would be wasted here. If his calculation was right, what happened just now was only the beginning.

"KYUREM! KILL THAT BRAT!"

"NOW!"

…

Sharpened stones suddenly erupted from below, forming a stone wall that trapped Kyurem, Ghetsis and Black inside.

"Ever get that feeling of déjà vu?" He shouted hysterically and at the same time, large boulders were thrown inside through the ceiling. Three of them were completely passive and thus unable to dodge the falling rocks. All suffered serious injuries, especially Kyurem with its paralysis condition. Ghetsis fell to the ground but he quickly got up to hide under Kyurem's colossal body.

A large boulder hit the pokémon in the head, breaking into pieces and falling on Black's head. He could taste blood with his tongue but still, he was waiting.

Finally, Kyurem had had enough; it threw Black away and whirled around angrily. The boy hit his back against the stone wall and felt like his spine was broken but he still caught the glimpse of Ghetsis doing something fishy.

"Oh no, you don't!" he screamed again, rushing towards Ghetsis and threw a full-force punch at his jaw. It did not do as much damage as he expected but Ghetsis had dropped his pokéball. However, it didn't take the 6,5-foot high opponent much time to regain balance and counterattack. A quick defeat was foreseen for any attempts to grapple with this man but letting him make a grab at any of his pokéballs would be a disaster. Behind them, Kyurem almost broke through its paralysis itself and began to destroy the boulders thrown by Goura with ease.

Another powerful roar joined the chaotic battle and this time, it was from a white, gargantuan, graceful-looking pokémon. It was hovering overhead, awaiting directions.

"RESHIRA—"

One distraction from Black was more than enough for Ghetsis to wrestle the boy to the ground. He felt like being crushed by a snorlax as Ghetsis knelt down on his back and stopped all of his movements with an atrocious hammerlock.

"Reshi-ram… Aim… Ghet-sis…"

"Hah, are you that stupid?" Ghetsis smirked. "You can get yourself killed if it does."

Black took in quick gasps for air since half of his face was being pressed into the ground. A mixture of dust, sand and blood entered his throat which made him cough violently but the direct order was given. He spotted Reshiram's hesitation with his one eye and, with every last bit of his strength, shouted his order again.

"KILL ME IF YOU HAVE TO!"

"WHA—?"

There could only be one truth in this fierce battle and it was protected by its master, the Hero of the Truth. Ideals, at the end of their existence, could be meaningless and also full of lies. Innocent people suffered mass destruction and lost their lives because a villainous organization claimed they would like to seek the ideals. Reshiram, who represented truth, now had got the message loud and clear and should not ignore those who were standing in its way. It stopped in mid-air, lighting up its tail with a yellow flame and breathed out an intense flame at the cage. Kyurem formed an icy shield and blocked the attack. Heat that escaped into the cage burned and blinded anyone not staying low.

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING, KYUREM?" Ghetsis, having taken a full blast of searing heat in the face, fell backwards and screamed painfully. "DESTROY IT! FUSION BOLT!"

"Reshiram, FUSION FLARE!"

Two powerful sources of energy lit up the whole area before colliding with each other, at which point they were fused into a single, giant column of thunderbolt and fire and started deflecting uncontrollably, destroying everything in its path.

Another explosion erupted and before Black or Ghetsis could realize what had happened, a building was almost cut in half and began to collapse right above them.

"NO!" Black shouted as he charged at Ghetsis and tackled him with his shoulder. A pokéball fell to the ground and it contained Beheeyem, the cerebral pokémon.

"Listen… it can save both of us…" Ghetsis, after a quick glance at the falling structure, said as they wrestled for the pokéball. "If you keep standing in my way… we will both die!"

"You're going to hell even if I have to drag you there myself!" And Black crushed the ball with his own foot, destroying their hope of an escape.

"YOU IMBECILE!" Ghetsis howled crazily before throwing a massive punch on Black's chest that knocked the latter to the ground. "You think that's the only pokémon I have?"

At the same time, Kyurem began to roar deafeningly and Reshiram also did the same thing, as if they were communicating in a unique language. Very quickly after that, it spread its wings and flew off, leaving the battlefield and its master behind. Reshiram winked at Black and hastily followed its counterpart.

"NO! WHERE ARE YOU GOING, KYUREM?" Ghetsis knelt down, raising his eyes at the huge silhouette getting smaller and smaller in the sky. Nonetheless, he quickly recovered from it and grabbed another pokéball from his side. Piercing Black with a glower full of violent hatred, Ghetsis growled through his grinding teeth,

"You're going to pay for everything."

And Ghetsis threw his pokéball at Black. Or at least he thought he was doing, because he was freezing on the ground, looking so surprised as he was unable to move a muscle.

"Well, you're nothing without that pokémon, aren't you?"

Black wiped off the blood stains on his mouth and smirked. He just got up from the ground and immediately, two large shapes landed right next to him—one of an angry, fiery pig pokémon and one of a warrior-like, eagle pokémon. A third one gently landed on his head, its favorite place, slightly glowing pink in daylight.

"How about a taste of your own medicine?"

Black and his pokémon turned back and walked away, leaving a helpless Ghetsis behind still standing still and now looking more terrified than ever.

And Black did not even look back at the mess behind him—the building had completely collapsed.

…

"Thank you!" Black said to Warr as the eagle pokémon sat him up. Together with the rest of his team, he looked around the whole battlefield in shock. How did things change so fast? Did he just actually survive the battle?

He still remembered the moment he came up with the plan. Direct combat against Kyurem would result in destruction of the whole area and potentially heavy casualty for his team, and Black was never someone who had a reckless disregard for everyone's safety; he had to keep the fight away from the crowded streets. He would rather take on the hardest, most dangerous part just to achieve his purpose; and how to stop that massive creature had been his only bother since the moment he returned to this world. The only effective way was that he had to eliminate its trainer with a surprise attack which Black gladly enjoyed the idea. In fact, it was a risky move, almost a suicidal one—striking when the enemy was most careless. No plan would survive contact with reality, however; Black never expected he had to order Reshiram to kill him if it needed to. And no one could foresee this whole narrow escape from a falling building. He really thought he could have lost his life and been buried under tons of debris but again, Black was surprised that the tide had turned in his favor.

That psychopath deserved nothing but death.

The massive noise caused by the collapse right on top of him might have damaged his ears but the truth is, Black could not hear anything now and his instinct was telling him that he still needed to be on his guard. For a short moment, he thought he heard the sounds of battle from afar but it ended very quickly. Now, only silence, dust and the stench of blood—his own blood—were filling the air. He'd rather not get caught off guard again after everything he had been through to stand on the ground for the second time in his life.

Or, maybe there was another possibility. And he just shivered at the thought of it—

_Is it finally… over?_

His knees suddenly became weak and Black started to feel dizzy in his head. Wasn't it just a few minutes ago, he just narrowly escaped the jaws of death? The thought that everything was finally over weakened him from inside as if his body wanted to yell at him_ 'it's time to rest'_. And he had not eaten anything for like 2 years, had he?

However, it was when the boy heard footsteps behind him.

…

Warr emitted a warning call and furiously flapped its wings, creating strong winds that cleared most of the dust in the area. Buoh stepped up to stand between Black and the source of those footsteps but Musha remained calm. He was floating in the air right in front of Black, sharing a suspicious look with his master as if he was also asking himself if it was friend or foe. They all held their breath when a silhouette slowly stepped out from behind the dust.

That figure… that pony tail… and the cap…

They had been in his mind since forever and simply could not be mistaken for anyone else in the world.

"Prez…" The word even escaped his mouth before he knew that. The word he had been hearing his own voice from the past calling that one girl over and over again in his dreams during all those days he was trapped in the stone.

However, after this point, everything happened very quickly. _'She'_ launched herself at him and tackled him in a hug. A blinding flash of lightning appeared out of nowhere and struck Black in the head. And that was the last thing he could recall before he found himself lying half-conscious in another place.

_(to be continued)_

* * *

**Well, writing about some violence in pokémon battles was kind of fun (uh…) but still, it's not really my cup of tea. **

**Was Black hit by a sucker punch? Chapter 2 coming soon!**


	2. Chapter 2: Touch

**Last week, I took an intensive course and it just took all of my time T_T I can only wait until today to publish chapter 2. ****I know it's kind of weird reading this now because we know Black is back (yayyy) but I'm just going to finish what I started. **

**Enjoy ;)**

* * *

**CHAPTER 2 - TOUCH**

_"It's the only way."_

_"How can you say that? It's not even an option."_

_"So are you suggesting we surrender and betray everyone who believes in us?"_

_"What? NO!"_

_"Tell me there's a better way! You tell me that, and I will do exactly what you want!"_

_"There must be another..."_

_"Listen! I've just met you, I don't know who you are but you've proved yourself to be a great battler. But things are getting out of control. People will die. We need to stop this creature. There's no time left. Something must be done, right here, right now."_

_"But you may DIE!"_

_"Sometimes, to win a game of chess, sacrifice must be made, my friend!"_

_"Like that one time when you sacrificed yourself for Senior White?"_

_"…"_

_"Have you ever thought that it had actually haunted her because she lost her best friend once?"_

_"WARR, SKY DROP! Get this kid out of here!"_

_"Senior… Let me… go… No…"_

_…_

_"You're going to hell, Ghetsis!"_

…

…

He thought something just touched him.

His vision was blurry; he saw something moving but he was not sure what or who it was. He tried to open his eyes a little bit more and recognized a familiar face.

_It's Prez! _

It was her, and she was touching his hand. She was even speaking to someone nearby though he could not hear anything.

Black thought he was crying; he couldn't help it. He wouldn't mind if the girl or anyone else saw him crying. He missed her so much, he just wanted to let her know that…

_Wait! Why are there… two or her?_

Another girl just appeared from the edge of his vision. What trickery was that? Was his mind fooling him again? That often happened when he had stayed in the Light Stone for too long, especially when he longed for something or when he missed someone too much. But why was it happening? He escaped from the stone already… or did he? Wew… why should he care about it so much? At least it always felt so good to see her even though it was just a dream.

He was still dreaming after all.

_Oh, there comes a third Prez... Cool! Give me more!_

This 'Prez' even waved and clapped her hands in front of his face. She was holding something like a flashlight and shone it at the boy's very eyes.

_Ouch! It's too bright Prez, put it away!_

_Wait, what the…_

…

"Black, you hear me?"

"Black, look at this. Black!"

"He just blinks again."

"He really does. What do you think?"

_Someone keeps saying my name. I want to see who..._

"Very good. He's got some reflexes."

"I know it. I just know it, I saw it a couple of minutes ago."

"Quiet!"

"Oops… sorry!"

_I'm seeing things now. I'm in a room with… three people_. He could open his eyes wide now and the first thing that crossed his mind was, _Where am I?_

"He's back, he's back! Black, don't worry, you're safe here. Alright guys, this is the moment. We will do as Professor Juniper instructed, and since he hasn't had any real interaction for a while, he should see his close friends first before meeting any other people. I'm leaving you guys with him for a moment. We will evaluate his condition later. Remember what we talked last time? Don't let him ask too many questions!"

"We will try. Thank you, Doctor!"

Black saw one person leaving the room. Only two left, but none of them was 'Prez'. They were—

"Cheren! Bianca!" He slowly said the names. The boy found it a little awkward, yet still happy to see his childhood friends again.

"Heeey, Black!" The girl turned back and almost jumped when she heard her name. "Black… Bl…"

However, she started crying almost instantly afterwards. Cheren quickly came to the girl and patted her on the shoulder, but she hugged him all of a sudden.

"B-Bianca… please, not now… we… cannot… let Black experience… strong emotions," Cheren said while being crushed by Bianca's hug.

"Oh… right… sorry, I'm just so happy."

She let go of him and they both returned to Black. Seeing this scene in front of him somehow made the boy feel really happy. He was wondering what had happened with his two friends when he was away; they seemed much more mature than before.

"Hey guys… It's been a while."

"Hey, Black," Cheren smiled. "How're you feeling?"

"Good. I can still kick some butt right now."

"He's… he's kidding, right?" Bianca looked at the boys with a bewildered look on her face while Cheren and Black laughed playfully. Black wiped a tear from his eyes and looked at his friends. It was not like the joke was funny but this feeling was what he had not experienced for so long.

He had thought all those days in the Light Stone would have made him a soulless, insensitive person forever. At one moment, his cruel side had controlled him when he fought Ghetsis but at least he could justify such action (_Well, he reaped what he sowed). _The satisfaction he felt when Munna penetrated Ghetsis and they abandoned him to death thus would not make him a barbarian. Plus, there had been one more feeling other than revenge dominating Black since the moment he returned. And Black believed this desire was what made him believe he still had a heart.

Black thought his emotions would still need a little more time to fully recover but so far he had been so pleased with the progress.

Speaking of Ghetsis—

"Did we… win?" Black couldn't help but asking the question instantly, just to make sure. He could not disguise a slight fear in his voice.

"Yes, we won," Cheren said. "And Ghetsis died. Mr. Drayden told me they found his body under a building, or what was left of him, to be precise. Hey, imagine what kind of power actually knocked down a whole building. That was insane."

_Mr. Drayden? Who is Mr. Drayden? Oh… is that the Spartan-like Gym Leader?_ Now Black was definitely feeling much more relieved knowing that he didn't miss much.

"So… where am I?"

"The hospital," Bianca said. "People found you unconscious on the street so they brought you here."

"Really?" Black was honestly so surprised. "But… how? I was completely fine. I think I was…"

… 'attacked' by Prez and somehow ended up being unconscious. The boy decided to keep that part for himself only.

"There's a large wound on the back of your head. But it's fine, you're not going to lose your memory," Cheren grinned.

Now Black noticed his head was wrapped in bandages and so were other parts of his body.

"But you were absolutely worn out. Look how skinny you are, Black!" Bianca's voice suddenly rose as she showed more compassion for her friend's condition. "That's why you've been sleeping like a snorlax. Are you feeling better now?"

"Yeah, I guess the Light Stone didn't treat me like a 5-star hotel," he smiled and observed his two friends more carefully. Black somehow got the impression that they were more like a couple now, and for some reason Bianca wore glasses while Cheren's were nowhere to be seen. The boy really wanted to ask them but he thought he could save it for later.

"Guess what?" Cheren proudly said. "I'm a gym leader, and a teacher now".

"What? A teacher?" Black literally gaped at his friend. "But you're only… 16, right?"

"What's wrong with 16?" Cheren slightly wrinkled his brow, folding his arms against his chest. "White has been a president since she was only 14. Can you not pretend to be so surprised?"

_White… White… _the name sounded so familiar to Black. _Who is it_? _It that a girl… Wait, is it… No, that's Elesa…_

_…_

_Holy Simisage, it's…_

"Prez?"

That was when Cheren stopped boasting about himself. He shared a mysterious look with Bianca and no one could tell what it really meant except the two of them. Bianca said, after having listened to the boys' conversation for a while.

"I forgot that's how you call her all the time," she smiled a mysterious and knowing smile again. Black could feel his face flushing hotly; he could not just tell his friends he almost forgot what White's real name was. If they told the girl about it, she would kill him on sight.

"How is she?" Black asked, attempting to sound completely normal and steering the conversation away from the subject. Fortunately, that might have been unnecessary because none of his friends seemed to recognize anything about his feeling of awkwardness.

"She's great," said Bianca. "She was one of the defenders of Unova and defeated a Shadow Triad member herself."

"Really?" Black honestly could not imagine or remember seeing his president battle before. "But… what is this _defender of Unova_ title about?"

"That's how we address anyone who fought Team Plasma." Cheren just fetched a chair from the corner of the room and told Bianca to sit down. "We tried everything, to the best of our ability, so that you, Black, could face Ghetsis in the final battle. And we knew you would never let us down."

"Woah, guys, that sounds… amazing. I can't believe… I can't explain…"

"Relax, Black! It was over!" Cheren placed a hand on Black's shoulder and Black stopped speaking for a moment to inhale deeply. Too much information was what he was being given and it was giving him a headache but he couldn't help wanting to know more. Just more.

"Did Prez get hurt?"

"You mean White?" Bianca giggled again at the way Black called White. "She was injured but it wasn't very bad. She was here for only one day before returning to her agency. The president just can't stop working, right? Not even the hospital can keep her," Bianca said with admiration sparkling in her eyes. "Hey, Black, I think you may want to know that her BW Agency is very famous now. White also said she would donate her money to help rebuild the destroyed areas in the battle."

It took Black a while to absorb all these things at once but the boy could not hide a broad smile on his face. His president was successful, that was all he wanted to hear about her. He still remembered the day she closed her agency to participate in the Battle Subway but it was great to know she eventually reopened it. She followed her dream and finally achieved it.

_Prez deserves it so much. She is the best girl in this world after all._

…

Black stretched and relaxed while looking around the place. He was no longer feeling any pain. He really wanted to get out of this bed to see those beautiful sights of Unova again. The last time he was outside, he found himself already in a collapsed city. The boy looked out the window and saw a breathtaking dawn coming. Unova was still what it had always been—full of vim and vigour yet still calm and tranquil when he needed a quiet moment for himself. That would never change, and he loved this place so much. Even though the fight destroyed a big area, life would always find a way to blossom again. Black was no longer having a feeling that he was involved in a fight this morning—

Or was he having a wrong sense of time?

Did Bianca just say White was here for one day before leaving?

"Guys, how long have I been lying here?"

"About 3 days, I think," said Cheren.

"3 DAYS?" Black's beautiful vision disappeared in an instance and he found himself sighing deeply. He didn't know exactly why that troubled him so much. Was it true that he just wasted his precious time for nothing? After 2 years, it seemed like Black could not bear the thought of wasting more time even if it was only one day. There were so many unanswered questions in his head, and he still had some unfinished business to deal with.

There was something he wanted to tell White in person.

"Black, I know you want to get out of here, and I promise I will try my best to persuade the doctor that you're recovering really well. But for the time being, you still have to rest a lot," Cheren kindly said, and Black slowly nodded at him. Cheren was right. His friends must have worried a lot about him, the boy just couldn't let them worry any more.

Now, he needed to prove that he would recover, both physically and mentally, in order to get himself discharged from hospital as soon as possible.

"Come on, cheer up! You know, White came to see you before she left the hospital—"

...

* * *

_..._

_2 days ago…_

_I'm about to see him… I'm about to see him…_

_But what am I going to say to him?_

The president was walking along the hallway with her shoulders covered in bandages. The cut didn't fully recover yet but staying at the hospital was such a waste of time. She needed to get back to the agency.

However, she wanted to see Black before leaving the place.

…

Back then, she couldn't even control herself. Seeing her best friend again after all these years, all alive and well, had made her the happiest girl ever. At that very moment, White knew she had to grab him because she was afraid that he would disappear again.

They were so close together. Yet because of her, Black ended up with a big hole on his head and being carried away in a stretcher before finally being admitted to hospital.

If she had known a better way to let him know how much she missed him without hurting him, this situation would have been much easier to handle. Now she was about to see Black and he would certainly want to hear about that incident.

But would Black be angry? He had never been angry with her before. That adorable face of his with those radiant smiles in his eyes, he was like that all the time, and only Arceus knew how much she loved those eyes. Black definitely knew how to make her smile even though she knew she might have been so stupid at times.

_Black, do you know you've always been in my thoughts in every moment of the day? I miss you so much!_

…

"Hey, it's White!"

The girl heard someone calling her name. She had been spacing out for a while, and she had no idea how her feet eventually took her to Black's room. But he was not alone.

"Oh, hey Cheren, Bianca. You guys just come?"

"Yeah," Bianca said, placing a bouquet of flowers on a table. "But it seems like there's not much we can do here, and even the doctor isn't sure when he will wake up."

White approached the bed and looked at Black closely. It was Black, it was really him. He looked so peaceful, as if nothing had ever happened.

"Is he in a coma?"

"Nah, it's not that bad," Cheren shook his head with a smile. "I prefer the idea that he's only sleeping. He was completely exhausted. We'll never know what he's been through, and only Black and Reshiram know what happened inside that freaking Light Stone during all those days."

"Yeah…"

Black was right here in front of her, but somehow the girl felt like he was still so far away. She put her hand on his and gently caressed his fingers. She remembered those several times when they held hands in the past but none of them felt like this. Right now, it was a completely different feeling. White didn't care if Cheren and Bianca were looking at her since she was not sure she might ever hold his hands again, even as a friend.

White had never seen Black sleeping so soundly like this before. For some reason, she found that he was still having that usual expression on his face even though she knew he was being unconscious. Like, he was smiling an encouraging smile at his visitors, telling them he was fine and he would be back soon. How soon? The girl herself could not answer that question. White was not sure if Cheren and Bianca were thinking the same or maybe it was just her.

She thought she had gone insane…

… or did his finger really just moved?

And why was his hand sweating?

"Uh… guys! I-Is this normal?"

White called out and showed Bianca and Cheren his hand but it was no longer necessary. His whole face started to sweat, too. His smile was gone, and his expression was like he was having a nightmare.

"Black! Black!" The girl couldn't help calling him in panic but it was more like she was whispering to herself. She carefully wiped the sweat from his forehead but it only made it worse. "What's happening? Why are you…"

She saw tears in his eyes. Black was crying in his dream. She didn't know what he was dreaming but he had had enough of it. White didn't want him to suffer anymore. She didn't even want to see…

"I'm calling the doctor right now!" Cheren said and left the room.

"I-I think I should leave."

"White, wait!"

Bianca managed to grab White's hand before she could pull it back. She didn't want to make Bianca worry, but the girl thought she really needed to go.

"Bianca… I-I really want to stay, but I have an interview with the press this afternoon. Maybe you'll read about it tomorrow…"

"White, if he wakes up now, the first person he wants to see will be you. You know that, don't you?"

"Is it true?" White asked, feeling more uncertain than ever.

"_Yes. _I'm 100% sure. It's Black we're talking about. And he _likes_ you."

Bianca looked quite fierce and decisive. The way she was trying to persuade White was surprisingly unusual of her. It was an old topic they had discussed a lot since the moment Professor Fennel told them she was making progress in tracking the whereabouts of the Light Stone. While White was always unsure whether Black had ever developed feelings for her, Bianca always said she could 'sense' it from him, and everyone else also agreed that he likes White.

"B-Bianca, I-I-I told you already. It's just me. I don't know if he has any feelings for me."

Cheren just fetched the doctor and she immediately examined Black. Bianca dragged White outside to leave only Cheren and the doctor in the room with Black. Strangely, even though Bianca was no longer talking, she somehow succeeded in making White change her mind. To be honest, she really wanted to stay a little longer. She should at least have an update on Black's condition before leaving.

They only had to wait a few more minutes until Cheren came out, some slight disappointment shown in his eyes.

"He won't wake up now, but he's fine. He's still sleeping."

White felt some guilt filling her chest and clenched her fist upon realizing she had just sighed with relief. Did she want Black to wake up? _Yes,_ the girl thought, _but… not now_. She was not ready for this.

_Arghhhhh! Screw me! That's selfish!_

"What has just happened?" Bianca asked.

"Well, again, we can only guess." Cheren seemed to be picking his words very carefully. "Maybe… just maybe… somehow he could sense what was happening around, and your presence," Cheren turned to White and Bianca did the same, "might have triggered him to react like that even though he was still sleeping."

As Cheren finished the sentence, White felt like she was being scanned from top to toe by Black's childhood friends. The girl did not know what to say, except—

"D-did I upset him that much?"

Bianca let out a groan, grabbing White's hands and shaking them like crazy. This was the first time Bianca was seen impatient like that.

"White! Where's your everyday positivity? Why're you always blaming yourself? It was never your fault."

"Come to think of it," Cheren said, "I read in a book that in this situation, people only react like that if they're having a really strong feeling. So it's safe to assume that Black was either really angry or really happy."

"That's it, Cheren is right." Bianca clapped her hands. "He cried because he was so happy to see you. I-I mean, he couldn't see you, but… uh… you did hold his hands, didn't you? That's right, he was so happy because he could feel your presence. Ahhhh…"

She finished her sentence with another groan but this time it was filled with contentment and this made White blush a little. She had to admit, that… could be the case. She should never have expected Black to get mad at her. How could she ever think of him like that?

"Alright, we should also leave now, there is no point in staying," Cheren said. "I'll leave a note on the table for him in case he wakes up. You'll come back tomorrow, right, White?"

"I can't promise anything now, but I'll try to."

"Great!" Bianca grabbed her bag as they were about to leave. "Now let's just hope he's not going to miss the farewell party!"

(to be continued)

* * *

**Whose farewell party is that? The answer will be in chapter 3 ;)**


	3. Chapter 3: Decision (part 1)

**Can you guess who will appear in the next two chapters? A lot of explanations for previous chapters soooooo… enjoy ;)**

* * *

**CHAPTER 3: DECISION (part 1)**

Those clouds above Aspertia City were becoming darkened, trying to obliterate the sun though it was only 9 am in the morning. The weather looked gloomy today as if it was reflecting the innermost feelings of those students inside the biggest building in the city, but it could not stop the chatter and laughter in there from echoing all over the place. Aspertia Trainers' School was having one of the most emotional parties in years and every of its students could be seen holding a present on their hands. They all looked quite happy, or were they just pretending to look happy?

As Black was walking along the corridor, several students ran past him and they appeared to know exactly where they were going. Why did it matter to Black so much? Because he absolutely had no idea where he was heading. The school was surprisingly big.

"Bastard… that bastard…"

A young, spiky-haired boy was walking towards Black and mumbling something in an impatient manner. His words became clearer as the boy got closer to Black.

"Irresponsible… Unacceptable… Who does he think he is? Just when more people are coming for him… and they really think I know where he is just because they saw me with him during that incident?"

It seemed that the boy could not suppress his anger until he found the one he was looking for. Black kind of knew who that was but he was not quite sure. Why did the boy suddenly want to stay away from people? There had to be some reason…

_What is she doing?_

Black's focus was just shifted to this small, empty classroom in which the presence of a single young girl made the whole room look tranquil and magical in a strange way, as if it was being immune to all the noise outside. The girl had her hair tied up into two large buns and it reminded Black of a famous cartoon character he saw on TV a long time ago. He could not see her face because she was looking out through the window. And why did she look so familiar? Some vague memories in his head were telling him he had met this girl before but he could not remember when it was.

The reason she took his attention was that it looked like she also wanted to be left alone and Black was wondering why... Wasn't it true that everyone came here, on Sunday, to give that boy a big send-off?

_Kids are certainly weird nowadays…_

"Excuse me, but you're in the doorway."

Another girl, possibly that girl's friend, said to Black in a neutral tone, and he realized that he was blocking the door.

"Oh, sorry!"

There was a strange expression on her face in a split second but it quickly vanished, and he was not sure whether he just imagined that.

"It's ok. Have a nice day."

She smiled at Black and entered the room. He found no reason to stay any longer and eavesdrop on their conversation so he left the two girls behind and kept walking along the corridor.

_Now… where is that boy, Lack-Two? Playing hide and seek, huh?_

_..._

* * *

...

"Room 108? Ok, I'm on my way."

_Finally, Aspertia City…_

She remembered coming here countless times when she was a kid but she had not been here for so long. When was the last time she came here? _Let see…_ _That one time when Cheren became a gym leader? That was about one year ago_.

_Aspertia Trainers' School and Aspertia City Pokémon Gym_, the sign read.

White took one deep breath and stepped inside. She walked past a few students who seemed to be curious about something. White didn't know any of them and didn't care either so the president just kept moving towards her destination.

_106… 107... and… 108._

Currently, there were two girls in the room. They appeared to be discussing something but one was about to leave.

"Then I will come back when Hugh's found him. I've got to tell the others about it, too."

"Thank you," the other girl said with a smile.

"Are you feeling ok? Should I stay with you until then?"

"I'm good, Maya… thank you. It's just… I just want to stay here for now."

"Oh… Alright! Then call me if you need me, will you, Whi-Two?"

"I will… thank you!"

The other girl left the room, not paying attention to White who had been listening to their conversation for a while. She waited until the girl had gone upstairs before knocking.

"Senior White!"

The girl turned around from the window, some relief could be spotted on her face. White closed the door behind her and moved towards the girl.

"Senior, I don't know what I should do now—"

"Calm down, Whi-Two! I'm here."

White held the girl's slightly sweating and trembling hands. Whi-Two, her junior dexholder, had been through a lot of things for a 12-year-old girl. Looking at this young girl in front of her made her feel a little uneasy since it reminded her of a similar situation she was facing but that was all the more reason why she really wanted to help the girl just because she wanted to prepare her for everything.

"You're already here, that's all that matters to me, Whi-Two. Why are you still wavering on anything?"

"Because… because…"

And the girl hugged her senior, more like she was crushing her senior in an embrace because White was feeling some certain pressure against her chest which made the president unable to breathe in a few seconds_. _It was not like she was crying but her decision-making ability might not be working at the moment. White stroked her hair tenderly, speaking to her between her sobs,

"Now… now…"

"He's going to… leave me... he's going to leave everyone behind… I don't want it to happen. Please tell me, how can I stop him?"

_Seeing the boy you like leaving you and there is nothing you can do about it?_ It definitely sounded quite familiar to the president herself. But this girl, Whi-Two, and the boy, Lack-Two, had so little time together that she had no chance to show him how much she actually cared for him. And, to make the matter worse, he used to consider her as his high-value target; the reason why he flirted with a lot of girls was to find out which of them was the former Team Plasma member. And it was none other than Whi-Two herself. Even now when everything was over, the girl still could not completely get rid of that side of his in her head.

And when they were not paying attention, things were going to end even faster than it had started with just one sudden announcement of his departure and everyone in the school only had one last morning to see him for the last time before he left Unova. Because the two girls had grown very close since Whi-Two's first visit to the Pokéstar Studios _(she looked so cool in the Foongus Girl's costume_), the girl had been asking her senior for a useful piece of advice since yesterday and all White had been trying to tell her was that she could not change anything. And more importantly, she was too nervous to see Lack-Two in person.

"Whi-Two, I know it's not fair but he's not going to stay."

Whi-Two let go of her senior and the president could now look straight at her round blue eyes. A tear was forming from the corner of her eye but she shook her head, refusing to let it fall.

_She was such a strong girl._

"Then what do I do now, Senior?" she asked.

White sighed quietly, knowing that she would eventually ask this question. In fact, she did not have the answer for it. It was not something the Dreamer could simply say _you should do this or that._ One mistake and it might ruin the rest of Whi-Two's teenage years. A series of possibilities run through her head and none of them seemed ok.

"Should I see him?"

If only she could give her junior dexholder a _yes _or a _no_ straight away_. _White closed her eyes as her head wanted to explode from inside. Certainly Bianca was much better at handling these sorts of things. But she was not Bianca and she couldn't even handle her emotions properly.

So what could be better than letting the young girl answer her own question?

"Whi-Two, I don't want you to regret anything after today. Whatever you are going to do, whether you choose to do it or not, I don't want you to regret anything…"

"… Now, what do you have for him?"

The girl showed White a small, pretty handmade card she just took out from her bag.

"Um… Does it say you like him?"

"WHAT? N-n-no, of course."

"Then there's no way he'll learn about that, right?" White paused, gathering her breath and carefully choosing her words. "If you don't tell him about it, will you be able to sleep well tonight or will you think you should have told him?"

Whi-Two pressed a hand against her heart as if it hurt a lot. That was the same heartbroken feeling White was quite sure the young girl was suffering even though it was just an imagination. And that was exactly the idea she wanted her junior to think about.

"Whi-Two, since yesterday, all we've been discussing is just _how_ you'll do it. It's never been whether you _should_ do it or not. That's why I told you earlier that, seeing you here is everything that matters to me. You've proved yourself to be a strong girl. No, you're the strongest girl ever."

"Senior, I'm n—"

"Now that you're here already, you have all the reason to see him and tell him everything. Tell him how you think of him as a friend and more than that, how much you like him."

"What if… what if he doesn't like me?"

"So what? Will it make you his enemy? Even if he doesn't, I'm pretty certain he will still appreciate your feelings. You will be much happier that he finally learns about it, and you're not going to regret anything."

A short silence fell over the room. Whi-Two had her eyes hidden under the peak of her cap but she couldn't hide her biting lips. The president knew she was trying to think straight and came to her own conclusion.

And all White ever wanted was to make it happen faster.

"Of course, Whi-Two, you can still go home now and imagine nothing has ever happened today." And with a sly smile, she slowly reached for the pretty card Whi-Two was holding. "And I promise I will give this to him on your behalf—"

"NO!"

_Yes…_

"N-no! I… I don't need your help!" Her eyes suddenly became so furious as if they wanted to burn her senior alive for the idea. "I will do it myself! I will see him and… t-tell him what I think of him!"

"If you insist—"

"I can do it! I can do it! Senior, please tell me I can do it!"

"You can do it! I believe in you, Whi-Two. I always do!"

And for the second time, the president felt like she was being crushed by the girl's embrace. However, no more depression and hesitation; she seemed determined and knew exactly what she was doing. White could feel Whi-Two's heart pumping wildly and so was hers. On the one hand, she was feeling happy and relieved but on the other hand, pretending to be cunning and cruel was never a great choice when persuading others but she found it extremely effective in many occasions. She hated that side because it felt like another personality inside her was taking control.

Still, it worked, and that was the only thing that mattered.

"Remember when both of you received the pokédex?" White said to the girl, patting her back while still being held tight. Whi-Two was like her little sister, a sister who needed help quite often but she still wanted to stand on her own feet. That inner strength was something that even White, her so-called senior, admired so much without any doubt. "Though it's true he was targeting you, you two have been through so many things together. Believe it or not, those memories—he cannot forget them so easily. After today, whether he still sees you as a friend or just a case among a thousand cases in his job is unsure but hey, who cares, right? You only need to do your part!"

"I… I got it, Senior. But… it's still the end of everything, isn't it?"

Those quiet words—White could hear them very clearly since Whi-Two was whispering them right next to her ears.

She wanted to say _no_, but she couldn't.

"It's just… I can't stop thinking about it. I know I've been causing you trouble. I'm so sorry."

"It's ok, Whi-Two."

White heard the girl let out a deep, thoughtful sigh while she was trying not to do it herself. It looked like they both wanted to say something more but in the end, both decided to remain silent. Time slowly passed by; the tick-tock of the clock on the wall seemed to be noticeably amplified in the quiet room. The president was not sure how many questions Whi-Two was having in her head, whether Whi-Two was thinking the same as her but one thing White was certain—if Whi-Two did have those questions, time would be the answer for all of them.

_(to be continued)_


	4. Chapter 4: Decision (part 2)

**CHAPTER 4 – DECISION (part 2)**

_"An International Police Superintendent, and he's only 12? And he was disguising as a student the whole time?"_

_"Sometimes you can't tell the difference between a joke and the truth, huh?"_

That was what Cheren said to Black when the former told him about this boy in his class. The fact that his junior was actually a high-ranking member of an international organization famous for fighting crime was genuinely mind-blowing. He was there, blending in almost perfectly that no one could see through his disguise until the very end. Definitely everyone was shocked knowing that the youngest generation of Dexholders did not just recruit a typical boy. He was a veteran himself—professionally trained to fight and achieve any objectives regardless of the cost. Somehow, Black saw one part of his younger self in this description of Lack-Two even though they had not met yet. Resilient and steadfast, that should be how he was like.

Black had changed a lot and he knew that, though he did not know when exactly that happened. Black was pretty sure it was a good thing and he was glad that he changed.

…

Black just kept walking and let his feet take him wherever they wanted to go until they decided to bring him outside again. But it was not like he escaped the school already. The boy just got to this unique section of the school which he had been told about before.

_So this is where gym battles take place…_

This might be one of those rare occasions when the backyard of Aspertia school was empty compared to what was happening inside. The gym was closed for the whole day so Black would not expect to see any gym trainers or anyone here.

Black stepped into one of the battlefield and breathed in deeply. The boy suddenly realized something strange was going on inside his body. _Strange?_ He slightly shook his head. It was supposed to be familiar—something that had always be a part of him, something that told people who he was.

"Guys!" Black grabbed his pokéballs and sent out his whole team. His pokémon started looking around the place eagerly; they seemed to be enjoying the feeling of standing in such a large battlefield. It had been so long since the last time they were involved in an official, competitive tournament where everyone should not be afraid of getting their head cut off or seriously injured.

The question is,

That part of his was still there, after all those days?

"KRAAAAAAW!"

Warr let out a powerful scream, spreading his wings and took off. It did not take the eagle pokémon long before he returned to the ground, a fervent passion gleaming in his eyes.

"Do you feel the same too, Warr?"

Black approached the pokémon and friendly petted him on his beak. Warr contentedly closed his eyes and nodded.

"We'll see!"

The Dreamer sat down on a bench in the corner of the backyard, looking around the place again. It was still too quiet, completely unaffected by the noise inside the school. He really loved it. In fact, this place was—

"Such an ideal place to hide, isn't it?"

It would be a lie to say Black was not astonished at all; he actually was although he had already predicted this since the moment he left the hallway and entered this backyard. Black looked up from where he was sitting, trying to locate the source of that voice.

Deep behind layers and layers of leaves and branches sat a boy grasping his knees in that exact position that, even though people tried to look straight at it, they could hardly see through the leaves and recognize someone was sitting there. An almost perfect position like that could not be found by chance. Black was quite certain that boy had been using it for quite some time now.

"Yes, it is."

It should be him, Lack-Two, the boy the whole school was looking for. Looking at Lack-Two somehow made Black understand why the boy was so popular with everyone, especially girls (just like what Cheren told him) although Black could hardly see him due the leaves blocking most of his face. His sorrowful eyes were half-covered by the peak of his red tennis visor and Black was certain that, on a casual beautiful and sunny day, those two eyes could steal the heart of so many girls in this school. However, right now, the owner of those eyes looked like he only wanted to be left alone, which was awkward because it was supposed to be his own farewell party—a big party that everyone had prepared for him in a rush just to give him, the most favored boy in the school, a decent farewell.

There was this one thing that also bothered Black—should he think he was speaking to an International Police Officer or he was speaking to his junior? He was clearly a young boy, even younger than Black, but the impression was already there…

"Hey boy…" the Dreamer decided to ignore his own question. "… why are you hiding up there? You know that everyone is looking for you, right?"

No response from him, and it was not like Black would expect to receive a good answer. Based on what Cheren had already told him about this boy, Black could infer that he was never the antisocial type. So the same question remained—why, why did he want to stay away from people all of a sudden? Was he afraid of something? Was leaving a good decision? Was that decision even made by Lack-Two himself? Or…

_Could it be as simple as the boy never wanted to leave?_

"Looks like people don't want you to leave at all. Are you sure you want to switch schools? This place is really nice, you see!"

Black sighed quietly because he still didn't get a single response from Lack-Two. The boy was still having that blank look on his face. Black just got discouraged a little, wondering why he was dragged into this kind of conversation. Black just wanted to find Lack-Two, saying a word of thanks and that's all but now he could not just leave his junior behind like that. Moreover, his natural curiosity was aroused when he wondered what had happened to that boy that made him so miserable like that.

_If he didn't want to talk to start with, then why…_

"Hey, if you keep staying up there, you're probably going to make your friends worried—"

"Friends?"

"I'm sorry?"

Though Black would love to hear from Lack-Two, somehow he was taken by surprise when he did not expect to be interrupted like that at all.

"I don't have friends."

"What do you mean _you don't have friends_?" This time Black heard it clearly and it made him even more surprised. "Boy, you are not being serious, right?"

"Friends… are for weaklings. I don't need any friends."

_Is this kid high or what?_ Black scratched his head as he could not make sense of anything Lack-Two said; he really wanted to grab and shake his shoulders to make him snap out of his eternal depression. If this went on, Black was not sure where it would lead to but he was feeling a little bit uneasy already.

"Wait… wait a minute… you can't say so, it's just not… right! Of course everyone has friends. You see, your friends coming here today just to—"

"People like me… don't need friends."

Now Black no longer had to ignore it, the boy himself reminded Black that he was never a normal boy. Clearly. _What kind of people that say they don't need friends in their lives? _Black asked himself. And what was Lack-Two trying to prove? He might be a lone wolf because of his job but it was not his fault for being deviant in such a negative way. No matter who he really was, his soul should still be that of a teenage boy, nothing more nothing less.

"You made it sound like it's a really bad thing." Black smiled a little though he was feeling quite helpless. "Listen, I'm not trying to make you think like me but… look around you! People coming here because of you, because they all love you. They wouldn't be here if they don't. Are you telling me that all these things… those relationships you've been establishing over the past years… are they just parts of your job?"

"Yes."

"Wha— Uh… wait, just… just remember those times when things were really difficult… remember who were with you then? Did they choose to be with you? It doesn't have to be a bunch of people, just one or two of them… There must be someone… someone who you can trust and rely on… even just for an instant…"

"I don't need help from anyone."

"Wrong," Black said, quite aggressively. "Wrong! I don't know what exactly your job is about but… ok, let me guess, are you telling me your job requires you to deceive people into thinking that you are their friends and then you ditch them when they are no longer of any help?"

"I didn't—"

"But it seems so to me. At least that's how I understand it. And boy, you should believe in what you say… because if you don't, your life will be full of lies—"

"Enough, Senior… I'm not asking you to teach me a lesson."

…

Just a few minutes ago, this backyard was commended by Black for its pleasant tranquility but now all he could feel was a heavy silence falling on the whole place—the kind of silence that made people want to draw their own sword and challenge their opponent to a duel until one could no longer see the sun above him.

Black still remembered those times when he was a kid running from town to town with his Bianca and Cheren. He never forgot how they always supported his dream, how the three of them started their journey with the same first step and the worry on their face when they visited Black in the hospital.

He still remembered those days when he worked for his president. _White,_ she was always kind to him no matter what happened between them. She had got so much to worry about yet Black never saw her complain a single time about him being too loud quite often. Even when he was really close to giving up that one time, she never let him to. Black was being honest to himself; he missed those days so much that not even words could explain it.

If Black could write a book about all his little adventures with his friends, he could write another book about how important White was to him. Though they were only memories now, he would never trade them for anything else in the world.

…

"Fine."

Black decided to be the one that broke the silence. He really felt no hatred towards his junior. After today, it was most likely that they would never see each other again; there was no reason to make himself hated. If they could not talk normally, at least it was better not to make enemies of each other.

"Lack-Two!" This was the first time he called his junior by his name. "I'm… I'm sorry if I ever said anything that hurt your feelings. I swear I never meant to."

"Don't sweat it, Senior!" Lack-Two said, slowly shaking his head.

"No… No… I'm really sorry! I just want to come and say thank you… Thank you for everything you did to free me from the stone. I owe you a lot. And I mean it."

"Senior, you really need to say thanks to a lot of people out there. Not me."

"Boy, come on… without you and your organization, no one could have brought that new Team Plasma to light again. At least let me say thank you properly and accept it, will you?"

There was another silence when Lack-Two thought about it but very quickly, the boy replied,

"You're welcome."

…

Somehow, Black still found things happening so fast since the moment he returned. Had things always been like this when he was away? Black guessed it took time to get used to all these things all over again. Right now, he could finally smile a smile of relief after those tense moments. The young boy was more open when talking about this side topic though that was not initially intended from both of them.

"Just remember that I still owe you one, Lack-Two. So… it's weird to say this now but if you ever need my help, just tell me, ok? I promise I will try my best!"

"That's very generous of you, Senior! But I don't think I will need your help. Thank you, though."

"Right," Black smiled, scratching his chin. It was still quite uncomfortable but he'd better let it go. "Then I think I'm leaving now. You'd better be back soon."

And Black returned his pokémon into their pokéballs. He took his time to walk slowly across the backyard, looking up to see the sky above him just become less cloudy; some weak sunrays were trying to peak through those grey clouds which did lighten the sky a little. As the Dreamer approached the door, sounds of people speaking inside gradually returned but from behind him came another voice quite low but still able to drown out all the sounds in the area,

"I was fired."

…

Black immediately froze where he was standing. _Who has just—_

"I was shocked and angry when it happened. But above all, I was… happy. I didn't understand why I was happy and I still don't. I never imagined I could be happy if I was fired. But I was."

The boy was speaking in a trembling voice, not like that tired, unemotional one he had earlier. He was no longer having that blank look on his face; instead, he was nervous and somewhat afraid, trying to look straight ahead as if Black was also sitting on the tree in front of him. Lack-Two grabbed a small branch nearby and broke it easily with his hand, more like he wanted to crush it until it became dust but he realized he could not. He raised his arm and threw the branch's broken pieces far away.

"Before I could know what was happening, everything was over. The organization sent me a message, saying I was reinstated. No explanation whatsoever. I'm now resummoned to the headquarter and put on standby until they give me a new case. They have a special school for those like me."

Black could not believe in what he was hearing. So that was what happened to Lack-Two. He knew Lack-Two was a veteran but he had never imagined a 12-year-old could be undergoing a lot of changes like that. And those changes happening inside him—even someone four or five times his age could not possibly handle all of those things at once.

"Lack-Two," Black turned back and took a few steps towards the young boy. "I… I don't know what to say…"

"Then you don't need to say anything, Senior."

"But… you say you were fired and then they call you back… you could just choose to say _yes _or _no, _right? I mean, you were happy…"

"That's what you think. I was trained to accomplish my missions. I can't simply say no and leave. At least… for now."

_For now? Are you suggesting—_

"Lack—"

"Senior Black, thank you. You don't owe me anything now."

"Huh? Wait… that's that? I'm still trying to think if there's a way to help you…"

"No one can help me with that, Senior. I'm on my own now. But… I appreciate your listening to me. At least accept my thanks, will you?"

_Damn, the boy is smart…_

"You're welcome." He looked up at Lack-Two again and smiled, _Well, what's the worst that could happen? _He knew his junior was always a strong boy, he would eventually find a way for himself.

"But there're two things you were correct about. I might have… lied a little bit about myself, and…" Lack-Two hesitated a little before finishing his sentence. "… yeah, there is actually one person who makes me feel important. At times when I was struggling—of course I never meant to let anyone know but this girl, she would do everything to make sure things would be fine and… I just let her."

_I knew it; there must always be a girl in these sorts of things,_ Black thought; he really wanted to pat the boy on his back but realized he didn't want to climb a tree. Black's curiosity almost got the better of him when he was about to ask who that girl was but he held back just in time.

"I always know you're a nice lad. And I'm really glad you told me about those things."

"Thank you once again, Senior. And… can you promise to keep these things between us?"

"I promise."

…

Black had found the question for his question—no matter who Lack-Two really was, he would always be a normal boy. He also had emotions and those simple desires like everyone else. It's a pity Black couldn't have more time to really get to know him; they would become good brothers in no time.

"Hey boy, I'm not trying to sound like I completely understand what you've been through but believe me, it also happened to me once. You're a superintendent, you should know about my past, right?"

"Yeah…"

"So, could you imagine, on that day two years ago, people came to me and told me I was the chosen one. I would determine the future of Unova and save the world from destruction. And I was like… _what the heck? I'm just a normal boy who is enjoying my journey to become the champion of Unova._ Do you think I knew what was going on then?"

"No, I guess."

"True. And people made me their hero. That stupid title. I didn't even know what it meant then. And my destiny was to fight another hero. The Hero of Truth vs. The Hero of Ideal. What is Truth and what is Ideal? Sometimes I really wanted to scream _Get me out of here_. Honestly."

"So how did you come to accept it?"

"I don't know. It's just… I was about to give up. I wanted to go home. Musha even left me. But then Prez… she was one of the reasons why I decided to stay."

"You mean Senior White?"

"Right," Black briefly laughed and went on with his story. "Sometimes, I felt like I would have achieved my dream earlier if I hadn't been involved in her agency but that was selfish. I never realized it until then, that she also wasted the same amount of time for those stupid things. She even closed the agency because she wanted to become stronger. And for what? She was dragged into those stupid stuffs because of me."

"I think Senior White would never complain about it. She chose to do it herself."

"I know, right! She's just too good for m— never mind. Back to the question. I just knew that I needed to keep moving forward. There was no turning back. Even though I didn't know exactly what I was supposed to do, I just did what I thought was right."

"What… you thought was right?"

"Yeah… a little bit vague, huh? I can't even explain it myself. And then, things happened exactly as you've probably known. I defeated the other hero. I saved Unova and Prez but I couldn't save myself. Those 2 years… it's all over now but every time I thought about it... that was such a nightmare."

The end of Black's story was followed by another silence—An unpleasant silence when Black, once again, remembered those days when he was still trapped in the light stone. He wished his mind had been frozen back then so he didn't have to remember anything. Unfortunately, his memories about those days were always there to remind him of a dark part of his past. Black was not sure what Lack-Two was thinking. He just hoped that the boy could understand his message from the story.

"So... it turns out what you thought was right had become what you did," Lack-Two said. "And you were right the whole time."

"Was I? Hm... it depends on the way you look at it. Now we're the winners; the winners write history and say anything they want."

"No, Senior! I mean, that explained why Kyurem left Ghetsis, because Kyurem also found that you were right the whole time. Kyurem is a creature that sought to fill in the missing parts of its body with either truth or ideals. It chose ideals because it had no choice. But Ghetsis and his ideals were rubbish. Reshiram must have made it realize that... the only truth in this fight was you, the Hero of the Truth."

...

Black couldn't believe that he still had to suffer from another splitting headache after that headache Cheren and Bianca gave him when they visited him in the hospital. What Lack-Two just said was some sort of knowledge exclusively for highly intelligent people. He didn't think he was stupid but it took Black a while to understand everything the boy said. Everything suddenly became crystal clear now. So that was what actually happened. The tide did not turn by pure luck. It was inevitable that Black had been chosen to be the winner and no one could change it. And it was when Black started to become more and more appreciative of what had happened to him. He imagined his journey in the past 2 years was just like what he had read in those books: Based on a true event, a prophecy had been made in ancient times by the people of Lacunosa Town. And that prophecy was fulfilled by Black who managed to put an end to all those crises involving team plasma and the legendary pokémon. He was really the Hero of the Truth, the only Hero remained after all.

...

Still, there was something wrong in this story…

"Wait… Wait a minute! How do you know that Kyurem left Ghetsis? I never told anyone about it."

"Oh," Lack-Two laughed. The boy really just did. "Because I saw it. I finished my own battle just in time and I wanted to help you before you were killed. But there was this green-haired guy who came out of nowhere and told me not to interfere. He said that you were destined to be the only one who could end this fight forever."

"That bastard N," Black mumbled with grinding teeth. "I bet he said that with that freaking smug face of his."

"He did," Lack-Two said, and both of them laughed aloud. A light breeze was blowing through the leaves; the soft rustling was really some kind of music that made Black feel refreshed after only the first half of the morning which seemed like a whole day already. Some of the leaves fell on one of Black's shoes and he just gently shook his foot to let them rest peacefully on the ground. A positive energy was flowing through his body and Black thought that, as long as one believes, he could achieve whatever he wants.

…

"Hey, boy, will you come back to this place in the future? Maybe we could have a battle then… Hehe… I think people will definitely miss you a lot."

"Lack-Two?"

Black didn't get the answer he expected, or he didn't receive any reply at all. Black looked up again and found Lack-Two no longer there. The boy had disappeared into thin air, as mysteriously and suddenly as the way he greeted Black earlier in the day.

_So the International Police also have the skills of a shinobi…_

It was very likely that this meeting had been planned by Lack-Two. There's no way no one had come here to check whether he was here or not. Black guessed the boy was waiting for the right person to come. Though Black was not sure whether he was in that list, the meeting must have been successful. Soon, he would return to his friends and continue the party so that after today, everyone would have a day to remember.

As Black was walking back the same path he had taken to reach the backyard, he thought his purpose for coming here was finally achieved. There was no reason to stay here any longer. Black guessed he would find Cheren later when everything was over.

This time, Black enjoyed the fresh air when he finally stepped outside the school. This was such a beautiful city; Aspertia—he would love to explore the rest of it.

_(to be continued)_

* * *

**Gosh, you don't know how much I love these two kids! I honestly don't want to separate them but… I don't know! I DON'T KNOW!**

**Well, if you see the pattern, you will know what the last chapter will be about ;) update really soon!**


	5. Chapter 5: The Next Step

**I'm back after 4 months, ****I'm so sorry! ****:'( Here comes chapter 5 & 6!**

* * *

Lately, Black had been seeing this one girl coming for him in his dreams. She kept asking him the same questions that he swore he'd rather have a nightmare about eating those crawling venipede on the ground than answering them. The girl wasn't a strange person though Black didn't even know anything about her. He could only guess she was his junior dexholder because she kept calling him _Senior_ and…

_Mhmm… she also called Prez Senior White…_

In fact, his whole dreams were only a small piece of memory that happened recently. Black wondered why it mattered so much because it never looked like it could be of any significance. However, every time it returned, it seemed more like a stuck vinyl record that kept replaying itself over and over again until he woke up in a cold sweat in the middle of the night, trying to smack his head with his hand so as to break that annoying phonograph.

"_Like that one time when you sacrificed yourself for Senior White?"_

At first, he thought he only had to endure it when he was asleep; only after a short while did he realize that he was wrong. The memory sometimes came back to him when he least expected it to. Although Black was quite certain that his mental health was still strong enough to protect him from all the effects, he couldn't deny that these whole experiences were not very interesting to deal with. And even now, when Black was strolling along the streets of Aspertia City, he couldn't entirely enjoy his walk because the voice of that girl was echoing in his head non-stop…

"_Have you ever thought that it had actually haunted her because she lost her best friend once?"_

…

Back then, when he was released from the Light Stone, there was only this young girl by his side but they never had a chance to introduce themselves. Before Black could even ask where he was or what was going on, they caught sight of a large shadow in the sky approaching them at full speed. The girl was decisive enough to drag him across many streets until she seemed to lose all sense of direction and kept leading both of them to cul-de-sacs. It was when Black himself had to act purely by instinct; he wanted to prioritize the girl's safety over his own and they somehow managed to lose those mysterious pursuers in the heart of the city. Black knew the chance would not last forever so he insisted she tell him in brief what was happening while they were trying to escape the city. The girl informed him of the situation, that the finest trainers of Unova were battling with this new Team Plasma to buy time for his return.

"_Wait! So… Is Prez here?"_

"_Prez? Who is Prez?"_

"_Wha… Uh… I mean… BW Agency…"_

"_Ah… you mean Senior White…"_

"_Yes, yes, that's her!"_

It would have been a pleasant conversation if there hadn't been a man riding a giant monster trying to murder both of them. The two teenagers knew they could not hide forever, and Black just wanted confirmation from his partner before acting.

"_So the one chasing us is Ghetsis?" _

The girl nodded, and Black knew exactly what he needed to do. Either Black or Ghetsis would not last out the day. He came up with a plan though whether it would work remained questionable. No plan B and it wasn't like Black expected backup from anyone; it would be too dangerous if more people were involved.

"_But you may DIE!"_

_YES… YES… I know. But I didn't die, DID I?_

That was what Black wanted to tell the girl shouting in his head but he guessed it wasn't what she wanted. Who was she that made such a strong impact on him? No… it should have been this way—why did the strange conversation keep recurring to him? Or was that just a side effect from staying in the Light Stone for too long?

_I just wanted to save people, and I made it out alive. Isn't it the best ending? _

Black hoped he wouldn't go crazy if he kept arguing with a girl in his head but every time he reached this conclusion, the voice disappeared. It was just temporary, though, like a small victory, until it returned again, so Black knew he hadn't won this imaginary argument yet. There was still more about it… something he should do to deal with these awkward feelings of insecurity when he thought about _her._

_Arghhhhh… I should have called Prez…_

Black let out a low moan when he walked up the stairs to the city's lookout. Being the most famous spot in Aspertia City, the place was rather empty contrary to what he had expected. All he could find was a lamppost and a bench which made the place feel cold in some ways but Black didn't mind. This panoramic view over the city outskirts was one of the most beautiful things he had seen in a while, and the peaceful atmosphere up here was just excellent. Fixing the cap, clearing his throat, taking a deep breath and puffing out his chest—was there any other place more ideal than this place for him to do this?

"PREZ! I MISS YOU!"

He really felt like it'd been a life time since the last time he did this. He really missed doing it; it'd been a part of Black—the unique part that told people who he was. As always, what he received was a sense of refreshment after screaming aloud to tell the lands and the skies one of the things he'd been scratching his head over that not even Musha could help. He did it a little bit differently this time but the result was the same.

_It still works!_ Black smiled delightedly. He was still standing there, enjoying the sudden burst of energy. He knew the moment would not usually last very long before his mind was occupied again but at least for the time being, he just wanted to savour it. For a second, Black thought he might have found the answer for his problems. However, there was only one way to test it.

"Black!"

...

The only voice he wanted to hear… the lovely, soft female voice from a friend whom he found so endearing… the sound of his name coming from a girl whose presence meant the world to him… But... _Why_? Black gasped, sweat running down his back as he suddenly realized he was not ready for this yet.

"Prez?" He slowly turned around and saw his friend standing on the top step and holding a female tepig in her arms.

His feelings for her had been the same during all those days he went missing. Though this was the second time he saw her since his return, his mind was still flooded with the happy memories they shared in the past; the memories that kept Black alive and positive, waiting for the right moment to make his comeback. Now standing in front of each other, looking at each other in the eyes, no lightning strikes but... why did he feel so difficult to speak? Was it because—

"How long have you been standing there?"

Black regretted everything he had said before finishing the question. The first thing he said to her after 2 years—was that the best thing he came up with? He couldn't even greet his best friend properly with a simple _how are you_ just because he was afraid she could have heard him screaming earlier.

"I just came here."

How many percent of her answer was honest? Did she say so because she didn't want him to fluster? If that was the truth, it would be too embarrassing. His first impression since his return was ruined already. But... why was he caring about it so much? He couldn't change it anyway and worrying too much would make it even worse.

_It's Prez!_

_It's normal to miss your best friend, right?_

"I heard from Bianca that you'd be here for the party. And I thought you might want to explore this place a little bit," White said.

"That's true," Black grinned and scratched his nose but the boy started to blush when White stepped a few steps closer to him.

"I... wanted to see you, Black."

The fact that her cheeks were also turning crimson made Black afraid his could be even worse. This tension between the two teenagers was what he never experienced; they should be laughing and talking about whatever they had in their mind without any difficulties. That's an unusual and complicated situation when a person wants to see someone so bad, when he thinks he could spend hours and hours telling the other a hundred stories because he wants to, and also because he expects they will love listening to him but when he finally sees them, it feels like somehow there is a barrier between both, and it's no longer easy to talk normally like it was before.

It happens once in a while without a pattern but Black was feeling the presence of such barrier although right now, the distance between him and his president was narrowed to only a few feet. He remembered their reunions in the past and how happy they were feeling then; that was how it was supposed to be. He wanted to break down this barrier, especially when White herself said she wanted to see him.

"Do you want to go for a walk?"

"Yes!" She said immediately, her lips curving into a smile. Black was clearly relieved when he saw her beautiful blue eyes dancing in the sunlight. After that weird conversation with Lack-two, Black did not want to get tense about anything, especially it's his president he was talking to. A walk might be exactly what they both needed after being parted for all that time.

...

Black wondered what he could find at the end of this route. One of the sign told him it was Route 19, the one leading out of Aspertia City. Unova in late autumn was quite something; there were magnificent views surrounding the agency duo. As they were walking on a path full of dry leaves, the soft crackling harmonized perfectly with the blowing wind and the songs of bird pokémon. Sometimes, an orange leaf rested on their shoulder and they would merrily brush them off their clothes and allow them to keep falling to the ground.

This would be a greater walk if one of them actually said something to the other. Just anything. Black didn't know how long this route was. That was one of the two things he kept asking himself while walking with his president, the other one being about the girl herself. _What is she thinking? _Quite often, he took a sideways glance at her, expecting to see her doing the same thing but she didn't. Black knew the idea was silly because if she caught him do, it'd be deeply embarrassing but he really wanted to talk to her. It was his only intention when asking her to take a stroll with him after all.

More than once, he pretended to enjoy the beautiful nature which then became his perfect excuse to closely look at White taking very quiet steps that he swore he could hardly hear her footsteps. She was such an absolute beauty! The way she walked and looked around that even nature itself had to bow before her elegance and accept its position to become the background for this stunning painting where White looked like a princess... _No no no! Prez, a princess? _No words in this world could describe his president. It's hard to tell what she was feeling but her eyes told him she was also enjoying the walk. The way she looked at the leaves and the sky, the way she gently caught the falling leaves with her both hands, the way she looked at the weird flying pokemon which Black had never seen before... _Are they native to Unova?_ He wondered.

Black knew this was not the first time he thought about his friend but he'd never looked at her like that. She was not like any other girls he'd met though she was still the same girl he remembered after two years. Something had changed that made Black think so differently about her this time.

There could only be one girl who he missed that much, whose smiles shone brighter than the sun, whose name he never said but he didn't care. Oh, how he wished he could be with her the whole time again, just like before.

In the end, Black came to understand what made the difference.

_A quiet Prez? Definitely one of the best..._

…

"This is Flocessy Town!"

A small town, much smaller than Aspertia City but strangely it reminded him of Nuvema Town. It's lovely, peaceful and has a typical small-town vibe that could make people reach a calm and serene state of mind. There's an old clock tower in the middle of the town which Black guessed, during its glorious days, it had seen enough changes of the town and its people. Now it was just another place of interest—old, dirty and possibly abandoned—though he could see that the clock was still working.

"I've never heard of it before."

"Really? Then, what do you think?" White turned to him and asked.

"About what?"

"The town, of course!"

"It's nice," he answered without hesitation.

"Mmmm... still, looks like there aren't many things around here, right?"

"I'm not sure... but I guess so."

The girl stopped walking and sat down on a park bench next to the clock tower. There was a nostalgic look in her eyes for a moment which made Black doubt that there could be some connection between the place and his president. Black hesitated a little before coming to sit next to his friend. He also raised his eyes and looked up at the clock face. Both of them entered another short silence and once again, he was getting so curious and tried to figure out what the girl was thinking so he didn't realize she was no longer looking at the building.

"This is my hometown," she slowly said with a faint smile on her lips.

"This is your... WHAT?"

"This is where I came from. My family lives here."

Black couldn't believe what he'd just heard. What was that all about? Did he understand what she said correctly? But the whole walk wasn't planned at all; he never expected both of them to end up at White's hometown. So was it just him who didn't know where they were going in the beginning? Right now, the boy could feel those terrible feelings of guilt sweeping over him as he tried to explain.

"I never knew that," said Black apologetically.

"Because you never asked me," she replied in such a deep voice and Black wished he hadn't said anything. How could he be so oblivious? Those talks about their dreams in the past suddenly became useless if he'd never asked her where she was from. And there were so many things he hadn't asked her. It's no exaggeration to say he knew nothing about her.

"I… Prez…"

"But never mind! While we're here, I... I want to show you a place, do you want to see it?"

The girl tried to wear a smile that looked weak and forced. Black wasn't good at reading others' thoughts but he could still understand why she acted oddly like that. It was his fault to bring it up and her answer was only as honest as it could be. She had all the reasons to keep going and expressed her disappointment but she would dig herself into a hole and so would Black.

"Sure!"

She was such a forgive-and-forget person. Black swore he'd spend more time thinking about it, making a list of all the things he wanted to know about his president and asking her as casually as possible so that she'd understand he was sincerely trying to make up for his shortcomings.

_Need to start with asking Prez when her birthday is. Really, I've been calling myself her best friend?_

…

"We're almost there."

Black thought they were going through another route again but right after leaving Floccesy Town, he saw a big, wooden sign on top of the entrance leading to a place that appeared to be—

"A ranch!"

That was a big ranch and not anything he'd expected to see a moment ago. The boy had never seen one in his life; it even had a traditional, lovely, red-roofed ranch house located on a small hill. He bet from up there, one could see anything happening within a radius of at least two miles of the house.

As the two walked across the fields, they saw flocks of mareep and several flaaffy bathed in warm sunlight and grazing peacefully. The serene picture of the countryside was completed by an old man and his herding Herdier. They had spotted the two teenagers' presence and observed them cautiously. Before Black could ask his president whether their presence was allowed or not, she waved at the shepherd in a friendly way and the man did the same to her.

Why was Black getting the impression that the old man was only greeting his long-lost Little Miss who'd been away from home for many years? And more importantly, who owned this ranch?

"You know him?" he asked.

"Mm-hm."

"Then… we're not trespassing, right?"

"Of course we're not. I've been here so many times that I even lost count. Since I was a kid."

"Right…" Now he couldn't stop his imagination from running wild any more—The picture of a little president in a white dress running across the infinite field playing and laughing together with the ranch pokémon... _So that's her childhood, how she grew up and developed her love for pokémon. It all makes sense! _He thought. Her childhood was full of joy, laughter and vigor, just like his. This was, no doubt, one of the most important discovers about his friend.

"Prez, is this your family's ranch?" Black finally came to a single simple conclusion.

"What? No! That's goofy," she snorted with laughter, and Black felt like she just used a super-effective Wake-up Slap on him. "How did you come up with that?"

"I-I... uh… h-he… mmm…" Black stuttered, pointing at the man far ahead. "… so I…"

"I get it!" She cut him off, wiping a tear from her eyes. "It's just everyone knows each other in this town."

"Right, right… makes sense…" Black blushed furiously. Now knowing that he'd gone too far with his imagination, he felt ridiculously stupid.

…

_What does she mean by 'almost there'?_

They'd gone further than he thought, to the furthest side of the fields and into a forest. It was like in those movies where people live in a farm right next to a forest and every night, a monster lurking in the shadows attacks people… Black'd been having his head on the clouds and was trying to differentiate between reality and his own fantasy because it was getting shadier for every step they took deeper into the forest. His president seemed to know exactly where she was going until they had to stop because the trail suddenly ended. It seemed to Black that she could navigate and orient themselves through the forest mostly using her senses.

"Prez—"

"Give me a second!"

She frowned a little while trying to focus and find out what was wrong. Black wanted to tell her they might have taken a wrong turn at some point but knowing his president, it hardly ever happened. The girl took out a pokéball from her bag and sent out Amanda who instantly carried out a decisive order.

"CUT!"

The serpentine pokémon swirled its vines like two sharp blades in the air and easily cleared the bushes in front, revealing what seemed to be the rest of the trail.

"I haven't been here for almost three years but we're almost there."

_Ah, here we go again_. Amanda had to cut through the prickly thorns three more times on White's command to clear the path for them but she never needed to redo it a single time, which confirmed his impression that she knew this forest like the back of her hand. His curiosity was aroused again as he wondered what was awaiting him at the destination.

…

"We're here."

Black heard his president say in a whispering voice while mopping the sweat from her temple. Their second walk of the morning was not as easy as the first one but what they got at the end was definitely rewarding. All the efforts to get here finally paid off.

_What is this place?_ Black thought and gasped as no one could imagine such a place could exist in the middle of an ordinary-looking forest. Eerie and enchanting, the whole place was a small, closed circle with a lake in the middle. Shone by that magical light filtering down from above through the holes on the leafy roof, everything looked illusory and peaceful. A small swarm of masquerades, possibly inhabiting the place, were flying around a strange hedgehog-like pokémon as if they were casually exchanging greetings. The water was perfectly calm; the whole place allowed no sounds to enter or escape it.

"I suppose this is your secret spot?" Black asked.

The girl quietly nodded. Black saw mixed emotions in her eyes. She placed one hand on her heart as if she was remembering all the times she was here in the past. Happiness or sadness—he could hardly tell but one thing he was certain—this place meant a lot to her.

"Everything here looks… wilder than what I remember," she said.

"And what makes you say so?"

"I've never seen these flowers before." White gave Black a lovely bud of flower she was holding with her two hands. Black took it from his friend, wondering if he'd seen it in some book before. "And look, there're a lot of them here."

"They're called Gracidea. It has something to do with a certain pokemon from another region, I guess so. But you're right, they're not native."

"Of course you'll know about these things better than me," she smiled. "Black, I'm not sure if you've noticed this but Unova is changing. It's not the same Unova we travelled around 2 years ago. So many things have changed, and even I... you know, I have reopened the BW Agency."

"Hey, Cheren told me that. That's great news!" Black blurted.

"That's... so now when I'm about to say anything, I need to know if you've already heard it from anyone," said the president, standing with her arms akimbo and throwing him a reproachful glance before turning away. Was she… sulking? How insensitive of him, again! Such great news like that—she must have been waiting for this chance to tell him in person. That was the only thing that kept them together after all, and he just ruined it.

"I'm sorry, I mean... I honestly don't mind listening to everything you say. That aside, I swear I don't know anything about what happened when I was... gone. I'd even love to hear it again if it's from you..."

_Oh no, she's really mad!_ How did an angry president look like? Had he ever seen her angry before? Wouldn't girls usually stay mad for days or even weeks, according to his _research_?

"And Prez, I was really happy when I heard you finally reopened BW Agency. You never gave up. I know it because it's you. I always believe in you."

"Ugh! Please!" She let out a groan and turned back to him. The girl was still having that look on her face but it was no longer intense. Black believed this was the return of the normal-form president. He gave her a not-so-silly grin as another apology, waiting for a response.

"That's disgustingly sweet!" she said with a sniff, and Black suddenly started counting rocks on the ground because he realized what he said was very embarrassing. Even though they were standing next to a lake, it was clearly becoming hotter. Speaking to his president had never been like this before. He could feel his forehead dripping sweat, a sign of his mind getting too busy analysing the situation.

"Hey!" the girl finally chose to sit down next to the entrance, and that he was no longer standing shoulder to shoulder with her strangely freed him from the pressure. "Do you know why I brought you here?"

Simple as it may seem, that was a tough question. Black span around and looked at the whole place. She admitted this was her secret spot when she was a kid but it was his only clue.

"There's no way it was planned since it was I who asked you to walk with me."

"Good guess!"

"So I think… umm… errr…" he shrugged slightly. White gave him a curious look, probably because she was surprised Black was being honest about not being able to give her an answer but she smiled afterwards, gesturing to him with her head,

"Then come sit with me!"

He had no choice but to do what she said. They were shoulder to shoulder again but this was what he was asked to do so he didn't mind it that much. In fact, seeing his president enjoying herself quite a lot made him calm and soothing. She was eying a group of marill and azumarill playing together on the other side of the lake with her utmost interest; Black realized the girl was having that exact same look in her eyes as when she was watching her pokémon acting in those commercials in the past.

He never forgot those caring eyes; they never changed. They were what made her so endearing.

"Keeping your dreams alive has never been easy. I'm glad that I can still be here and talking about that, because more than once, I wanted to stop everything… just to live a normal life…"

She paused for a moment when several elemental monkeys were dropping berries for the marill and azumarill to catch, a gentle smile spreading over her face.

"… But then I thought about myself, about who I am. Because I'm already different, do I have to become a _different_ person so that people will think I'm _normal_? A doctor, an engineer, a lawyer, even a pokémon trainer—what we want to do is supposed to be of our choice but what if it's unprecedented?"

_Wait… I thought she's talking about the reopening again. Is she talking about—_

"Don't get me wrong, Black! I'm not complaining about my family or anything. They are great… my parents are always great. They've been giving me a lot of support. But in the beginning, they didn't approve the idea. Imagine an 8-year-old child talking about a pokémon acting with other human actors? And much later on, she still insisted that could be a thing. She must have been really crazy."

"No!"

"I know it weirded them out when they first heard it, Black! Every time that topic came up, they tried to make me change my mind but I didn't want to. And I didn't want to argue either so I came here to avoid my parents and waited until they calmed down. I used to hide a sketchbook in a tree hollow over there…" she pointed at a large tree a few yards away from them. "… pokémon with costumes on a big stage with light, camera and stuff—most of them came true thanks to the Pokémon Musical. No one could find me here so I was free thinking about what I wanted to do, what I wanted to become. If you asked me where BW Agency came from, it would be here..."

"… I know my parents only wanted the best for me, but the moment I decided to stand on my own feet, I promised to be responsible for my decision and follow my dream until the end in exchange for their approval and support. And now, I'm really happy because I'm still doing what I want. All thanks to you, Black!"

"Huh?" Black was lost in the story and he suddenly heard his name crop up. "Why am I in your story?"

"Pursuing my dream with everything I've got didn't mean I never doubted myself once. I did quite a lot, actually, but I never felt it was a burden. Back then, against doubt and uncertainty, I met you. You're always willing to shout your dream to the world. You're not afraid of people judging you. Becoming the strongest trainer around, winning the league—it's not even an unusual dream but few people dare say it aloud. We were pretty much the same; we didn't have a head start but we both managed to make it. Seeing you never stop trying every day gave me strength. You've been a great support to me, you're my best friend and I can never thank you enough."

She looked at him with her smiling and twinkling eyes and before Black knew it, he felt something soft and warm placing on his hand. Very quickly, her hand squeezed his a little before letting it go, but Black already caught a glimpse of it.

The hand of the girl who he cared about, who went through thick and thin with him and fought to bring him back was not the hand of someone who worked with actors and cameras; it was having cuts and wounds from the battles. The two hands he wanted to hold and protect but in the end, she still had to do things the rough way. They called him a Hero, they merely called her a defender of Unova but to him, she was already the Heroine, the main protagonist of this freaking long, painful and cursed story. Without her, there would be no such thing as Hero of Truth, and people could have got a different ending. Who knew?

And the boy came to realize how fortunate he'd been since the beginning. He had friends to talk to, he had support from his family, and later on, he was even supported by White, his president. Had he ever say thanks to her once? Or, who should be the one to say thanks here? How could saying a thank you be that hard? The way she said it as if it was so obvious made his head want to explode. Black clenched his jaw tight, knowing that he couldn't take it anymore. How could she speak highly of him so easily like that? Black wanted to do the same. If he didn't do it right now, he would be no more than a complete wimp.

But not a single word could escape his mouth.

"Did I answer my question? This is the place where I can be most honest to myself. Because there's something I need to tell you."

And he just let her change the topic like that. He didn't even acknowledge it. Had he already forgot how to talk reasonably like a normal person?

"And what is it, Prez?"

She slowly stood up, gulping in the cool air and shuddering involuntarily. Whatever she was about to say was not going to be easy but at least she had prepared herself for that. Black looked at himself—was he even trying to brace himself for anything?

"First, your debt—"

"Ah, the debt," Black said, finally being able to feel the muscles on his face again as they were trying to form his usual grin. He also stood up straight because it felt odd to speak to her while sitting. Somehow, it eased his mind a little to find that she finally talked about something he knew.

"—was already paid off 2 years ago…" White continued saying as if she wasn't interrupted. "… which means you're a free man now."

His grin slowly vanished as he started to take in the situation. How many times did he ask her questions about his debt in the past? He didn't remember the exact number but one thing he was certain about—at no time did he expect she would tell him it'd been cleared. And there was only one reason for that.

"I'm… free?"

"Yes. And you're no longer bound by our agreement to work for the agency. In other words, you're free to do whatever you want from now on."

"I'm… free?"

_I am free from… what?_ Black spread his palms and realized how uncontrollably they were shaking. He looked at the inscrutable president standing right in front of him. The idea was so terrible that he didn't want to think about it. Certainly that was not what he expected to hear, and it could simply put an end to everything he wanted to tell her because it was no longer useful. No, even if the debt was still there, it wouldn't change anything anyway.

_Am I the one to judge her for what she is saying? She just wants to inform me…_

"The agency is extremely grateful for having you as one of our best employees." The president gave Black a slight bow. "Again, thank you for everything!"

_Prez… why are you making it look so formal? What is happening?_

Black wanted to say _NO_, he wanted to tell her this was not what he wanted at all but he found himself mute, yet again, without showing any resistance. For every second passed by since the moment he first heard it, he started to think of the worst ending—a nightmare scenario, yet very likely.

"I'm also in charge of telling you this in case no one's done it: The money you received for winning the league two years ago was kept safely the whole time. Your mother and Mr. Drayden agreed to open a bank account for you in your place, and you only need to follow a simple procedure to officially make it yours. I'm telling you, it's a lot; enough for you to be financially stable for a long time, for whatever goals you have in the future."

…

_Money... league... future..._

_Do they even matter anymore?_

Tears blurred his eyes but not because he was crying. Every of her words was adding to the violent headache that he just got and his head started to spin like crazy. Feeling totally shell-shocked, Black took a step backwards and almost stumbled on a rock. He then felt two hands firmly grabbing his shoulders and with a minimal effort, Black tried to open his eyes a little only to see a worried president trying her best so that he wouldn't collapse.

"Black!" she called him with great worry in her voice. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine, Prez! Just a bit dizzy."

"Then sit down! Let me help you." Slowly, she helped him lean against a tree and knelt down next to him. She took his hat off and insisted he must rest and stop talking for a while.

Every time she touched him, Black felt like his heart was breaking into a thousand pieces. He wanted to throw up but he tried not to when he saw the worry in her eyes. His hand ran over the ground, pulling up any weeds it could find and mercilessly crumpled them.

He wanted to cry but how could he in front of White? It's like in those visual novels that always have more than one ending. Some are good; most are trash and there's only one best ending. All the paths he took that led him to this bad ending were flooding back and he realized how inevitable this was.

The day they met each other, the moment of parting, the reunion, the happiness, the feelings... they were all real and could never be denied. Keeping things as they were, however, was more difficult than he thought and Black knew it. All he wanted was another chance for them to be together so he'd been using the debt as an excuse for prolonging his time with her for a little longer; now he realized it was the stupidest idea. He'd hoped and believed that he deserved a better ending but it looked like it was only him who went too far again.

_Prez,_

_If this is the end of the story, then I will make the best decision for you. And for both of us. But before that…_

"Thanks for telling me, Prez."

"Don't talk! Your face still looks pale."

"I'm feeling better now. It happens every once in a while so don't worry."

He believed he was showing his president a smile but he wasn't sure whether it looked like one. The girl didn't look very convinced but at least his voice sounded better than a moment ago. As long as she kept an eye on him, she wouldn't let anything bad happen to him.

"Then tell me if it happens again." She gently wiped the sweat off his face with her handkerchief. It had a pleasant and familiar smell of her perfume. Black closed his eyes like a baby every time she touched them.

"Looking good again," she smiled, and Black couldn't help but smiling back at her. A wave of warmth suddenly enveloped his whole body—the same feeling that he had 2 years ago when they were still travelling together, as if the barrier was just lifted.

_Prez is always Prez. Prez is my best friend, she is the best girl in the world. No matter what happens after today, I will never, not for a single moment, think badly of her. _

...

"So... what's your plan now?" White asked.

"Plan for what?"

"For the upcoming days, weeks, or months, or whatever… what are you going to do?"

Some days ago, Black would have answered it differently. Now he didn't have much choice left so answering this was rather easier than he thought.

"Guess I'll just go home and stay there for a while… maybe until I'm fully recovered but I also want to spend time with my family."

"I see."

A surskit was walking on the surface of the water like a roller skater. Black observed its smooth and graceful movement, wondering when it would eventually evolve into a masquerade and learn to fly, would it miss those days when it only knew to skate? A whole new experience with significantly more freedom could only be achieved after it had spent enough time living in the lake which actually looked like a box.

"And after that?" the girl's voice brought him back to the conversation. Black took a deep breath, knowing what he was about to say was what he really wanted; there was no hesitation whatsoever.

"Unova had a new champion, right? I heard everything from Cheren. Mr. Alder retired and there're new gym leaders—Cheren, Marlon... still remember that dude with six-pack from the league two years ago... and a new girl... I can't remember the name now. So I guess I'll just journey again, beat them all and win the league."

"So you want to make a fresh start?"

"Yeah!"

"Sounds like you, Black. I'm happy to hear that!"

"Thanks, Prez!"

He let out a sigh after saying everything, not being sure if it was relief or there was anything else worth worrying about. Anyway, Black'd already lost the game, he couldn't lose more.

"Uhh… Black?" White looked very surprised when he sat up straight very quickly.

"I want to tell you one thing!"

"Oh-kay?"

_Now is the time..._

...

"Prez, what you've done for me in the past 2 years is unbelievable. I'm not having any stories in my head to tell you right now but I want to thank you for everything. I'm glad I had you as company the whole time."

"You don't need any stories to thank me, you dork!" There was a glimmer of a smile in her eyes. "But I'm glad I could help you!"

"Really? I thought it'd sound nice if I had at least one story to tell you," he winced at her, visibly looking baffled.

"Now you're making me feel really weird for that…"

"What? Don't, I'm not being sarcastic. I mean…"

Black gulped nervously but he'd already made up his mind. If he didn't do it now, he'd never find a better chance to do it again. Besides, what's the point of being the Hero of Truth if he couldn't even tell his friend the truth?

And it wasn't like he wanted to confess to her or anything…

"I know I've been fortunate with the path I chose but everything good in my life happened only after I met you. You made me a different person. When things got disastrous, I only wanted to retreat to where I could find you. You made me feel safe… sounds strange for someone like me, right? I know, but I swear I couldn't have done anything without you."

All the memories of their journey came back like a flood again and Black wished, just one more time…

"I missed you, Prez. I missed you a lot. I missed you when you got on the train. I missed you when I was in the stone. I'd be a liar if I told you I haven't thought of it, but—"

He felt his shoulders shaking slightly and had to clench his hands in his pockets to hide it. It was getting difficult to speak normally while biting his bottom lip at the same time but the boy could feel the pain in his chest—the same one that gripped him a while ago. It was so sudden, so excruciating that he wanted to cry but as much as he tried to hold the tears in, his inner scream was becoming louder and louder.

"… I miss our journey together. I'm not begging for another, I just want you to understand my feelings. I've wanted to travel with you again, just one more time. I can't imagine how happy I'd be if it happened but I guess it'd just make me selfish. I shouldn't bother you with my problems. You've been a great support to me. I will never… PREZ?"

Black completely forgot the fact that he wanted to cry while saying all these words when he saw a tear tracing down her cheek. Her hands flew to her mouth, covering it completely as if she was trying not to believe in what he just said. Not a single sound was heard. Black had never seen his president cry before so he wondered if she was; he had no idea what to do besides sitting there and asking like an idiot,

"I… Did I say something wrong?"

And just like that, he froze with utter surprise when she suddenly hugged him tightly. The girl's embrace was not like anything else in the world. For a short moment, he imagined everything had disappeared; only the two of them were being in this small world of their own. Such a warm and comfortable feeling he was having; Black could feel his heart becoming doki-doki intensely. It was almost perfect until he decided to return the hug, by placing his hands on her back only to realize she was trembling helplessly.

"Are you ok?"

"I can't believe it! I'm so selfish…" she said in a cracked voice.

"Now, now, Prez, you… EH?"

She let go of Black and looked him in the eyes. For an instance, Black found the distance between them too close to look back at her but the crystals in her eyes took his attention. One after another, they got bigger and eventually rolled off her cheek, so quietly that one could tell the girl was trying so hard to keep it that way.

"No, no, no… Why're you crying?" Black started to panic.

"I missed you, too!" she looked at him between her fingers while trying to cover her face with both hands. "There wasn't a single day that I didn't miss you. I kept seeing you in my dreams. I prayed to Arceus for your return every day so that I could see you again but when I did, I ended up hurting you…"

"But it's just an accident, right?" Black tried smiling a little to cheer her up but he actually looked panicked more than ever. "Everyone knows that, Prez, so calm down…"

"And then I pushed you away on purpose just because I thought I'd just hold you back, even though I'm the one that wants to travel with you again. I want to… I want to be with you!"

Those words almost turned Black into a statue. Did Black just hear it correctly, that she wanted to be with him?

And he was the one who thought he would just get in her way.

"You sacrificed yourself for everyone… I just can't leave you like that so… please, Black, let me help you! Let me make your dream come true again, like what you did for me. That's the least I can do to help you now. We will help each other, just like before…"

"But it's not true."

…

White removed her hands from her face. It was as if time had stopped and so had everything else, because her tears just stopped falling and she was petrified of what he just said. How could Black just deny her like that? That didn't sound emotionless at all, though; instead, he looked like that just killed him from inside.

"W-what did you say?"

"I can't see how I will be of help to you now. What you've achieved is phenomenal, your success surpassed all expectations. And I'm just about to make a fresh start, I'll just become a burden and slow you down."

"No, you're NOT a burden!" the girl screamed desperately, her tears began to fall again. "How can you say something so cruel?"

"Prez, listen to me! You may haven't told me everything about what you're doing but I'm sure it's not the same anymore. People come to you now; you don't have to bring yourself to them. You have lots of things to do and they're all important. You can't go from town to town with me. You've been working so hard for it**.** I'd be selfish if I ever allow it to happen."

"I promise I will arrange everything. We… we can work this out, right, Black? Right? Right…"

"… Please say yes…"

Every time Black heard a sob from the girl, he felt like someone was plunging a blunt knife deeper into his heart—slow, painful but not fatal, yet. Until she couldn't keep herself clear enough and started to trail off, his very own eyes were already dripping hot tears of agony. He also wanted to cry as loudly as possible; he wanted to scream wildly and curse everything that led to this crisis. He cursed Ghetsis, cursed their dreams, cursed how different both of them were and finally cursed himself. He still couldn't say it at all, that he liked her so much. Those were tears of a boy who shouted his dream out loud but kept his innermost secret to himself. Black knew telling her would make everything even more problematic; all he could do was pulling the girl closer and hugging her tightly, letting her sob into his chest and her tears soak his jacket, hoping she could listen to his heart beating wildly for her and trying to tell her that, if she ever allowed him to give up everything and work for her, he wouldn't hesitate to leave everything behind just to be with her, just to become her employee again but if he told her, she wouldn't let him live to talk about anything else.

…

Every passing second was another battle between the brain and the heart. All the pain, desperation and sadness were felt by the heart but their brains had never stopped looking for a way to change everything until it gave up and reached another phase—the phase of accepting the reality. Whether they wanted to deny or ignore it or not, they both knew they couldn't make a decision for the other. It was when they no longer wanted to express any emotions to the other because both were too tired; they just lapsed into absolute silence. It would have been uneasy if any of them had to endure this alone but in this situation, it wasn't too bad simply because they were having each other.

They had been staying like this the whole time; none wanted to let go of the other. After that acute sentimental crisis was temporarily over, they started to pay more attention to the presence of the other and came to realize they somehow enjoyed this awkward feeling—chaotic, heartbroken but peaceful and safe. Both knew the wounds in their hearts would keep bleeding for a long time and could even never be able to heal completely but right now, none of them mattered. No need to say anything, they were trying to cherish every single moment left when they could still be together. Nevertheless, both knew the days ahead were supposed to be their most difficult days. If they hadn't known each other, those would be just normal ones but when they had lost each other once before finding each other again and were going to lose each other again, it wasn't something one could be prepared for. It's true sometimes people spend the whole time coming up with a grand scheme and never make it happen; instead, they make hasty, difficult but irreversible decisions that decide the only way things should happen. Being together was not the most important thing anymore if it was only to satisfy personal desires. He realized their dreams were no longer the strongest thing that could keep them together. The one thing left was their friendship, and though powerful, it wasn't something that could be used for such purpose. Black knew very soon, he'd have to get ready to go it alone. All efforts to cling to the other only slowed both of them down; it was time to move on.

_(to be continued)_


	6. Chapter 6: One More Time

"Black, Black! Where are—?"

She saw that boy standing on the balcony outside her room just in time. The girl still remembered how many times she had told Black not to leave the room. 15 minutes was the total amount of time she went to take a shower and received an unexpected phone call from her colleague. No matter how careful she was, and Black swore he would never move an inch without her permission, White was still afraid.

And her fear almost became true; she almost woke everyone in the house up. Was the president angry? White didn't think so, though she wouldn't deny she somewhat wanted to grab his collar and tell him how much that scared her. It didn't linger, though, especially when she looked at that tall, thin figure of his in a pyjama that seemed much looser than before. He just stood there like a statue, unlike the usual Black she knew.

It'd been a long day for the two teenagers. She wasn't sure how he felt about the day; to her, it was simply a roller coaster of emotions. There had been quiet moments with relaxing, heart-warming and nostalgic feelings but above all were those questionable, heart-wrenching decisions. The only good thing about the day probably was how it was going to end. After all, no matter how shitty a day was, it'd always be better if people could try to stay positive a little bit towards the end of the day.

And the president couldn't express her happiness into words when Black accepted her invitation to stay over at her house. It wasn't planned at all; the idea just popped into her head when she thought she was most depressed. White admitted she didn't expect Black asking if he would finally meet her parents (and she realized he could be really shy at times) so she had to ensure her parents really wanted to see him, too. And what's more, when they happened to pass by her house, wouldn't it be a great idea to actually get inside and have dinner there?

"_So… I'm sleeping with your dad tonight, right?"_

She laughed in the darkness of the room while recalling the question he asked her when both of them were already on the doorstep. It was silly but she couldn't blame Black for that. That was another awkward moment though the answer was rather simple: Her family always has spare futons for visitors and he'd sleep on the floor in her room. In-her-room. Anyway, if it wasn't in her room, what was the point of this whole sleepover thingy? Leaving aside the fact that she invited _a boy_ to stay overnight at her house, the idea of spending the whole night talking to Black was definitely something she couldn't imagine when she woke up this morning. A sleepover—it would often sound so ordinary for any teenagers of her age. To White, however, she really wanted to make this a memorable night—a memory she would never forget.

…

_Creak!_

"Hey, Prez!"

Black turned around, giving her that usual gentle smile on his face. The girl just couldn't express how much she loved him doing that.

"Hey!"

She came to lean on the railing just like what Black was doing. In front of them were the sleeping streets of Flocessy Town though it was only 9:15 p.m. at the moment. The people here preferred staying behind their doors in the evening because there was no place for them to go. The feeble light from the lampposts shone those few hasty pedestrians who probably were also going home. This was very different compared to life in big cities like Nimbasa or Castelia City where their citizens were more likely to make the most of their leisure time outdoors.

"It's so quiet here," Black said.

"I told you; there aren't many things around here. I just hope you're not getting bored already."

And when she said so, she really meant it.

"How?" Much to her worry, Black's immediate reaction told her the opposite thing and she was glad she was wrong. "I wasn't complaining."

"Oh… right, sorry." Even White herself also realized how silly she'd just been.

"To be honest, I think I'm really fond of this place." He waved away her apology and kept talking as if he didn't hear it. "I've been feeling nostalgic for a while now every time I think about it. This place looks just like Nuvema."

"Really? In what way?"

Black pointed at the starry, wide-open sky above the city. They were having a full moon tonight… was she thinking about the shape of the moon? It was really something she hadn't thought about for a long time. The moonlight made up for the faint light from those lampposts… what magical and beautiful light!

"In Nuvema, we also have a sky like that—full of stars… of course it depends on the season. It never fails to fascinate me. People go to bed very early. I'm not sure if it's the same for places we've been to but you won't see anyone outside after 9 there. I bet those from Castelia will have a hard time if they move there."

"How did you deal with it back then?" White asked.

"Did I say I had to deal with it? You know you could put me on an island and I would still survive, Prez, but didn't I just tell you I like this place?"

It took the girl almost 10 seconds to think about what Black said. Black must have realized what she was thinking when he saw her head tilting slightly to one side.

"You never thought about me like that, right?"

"Yeah, it's just… when you said you're fond of this place, I didn't think you actually meant it like this."

"Well, now you know."

The boy gave her an amiable grin while scratching his nose as a habit. She gazed at it and realized—_it all makes sense_. If this was the one and only Black she knew, everything should make sense. Wasn't it true he also camped to save money before? He must have stared at the sky so many times wondering about the path he chose, just like her…

"I never forget where I came from. That doesn't really explain anything but… never mind! How about you, Prez?"

"How about me… what?" she was so busy thinking about other things that she wasn't prepared when he asked her.

"Ah… do you enjoy living here, in your hometown?"

No one had ever asked the girl about it. However, this kind of conversation had been imagined several times in her head, long before she set foot on her journey. White never imagined one day she would talk to anyone about the place she was born. She remembered back then, on the day she left Flocessy Town to follow her dream, it was a spring-like day in the summertime. Saying goodbye to her parents, being all optimistic about the future but the young, teenage president couldn't help feeling a hole in her heart.

"I do," she replied. "I like everything about it… I know it doesn't look like that." The girl added when she saw the change of Black's expression.

"Don't get me wrong," Black waved his hand in the air as he was trying to explain. "I mean… yeah, I didn't think that'd be your answer but… wow, we finally have something in common."

Her eyes grew wide looking at Black curiously. Black seemed to know exactly how to change the topic though it was completely unintentional. Black was so earnest and talking to him always felt so pleasant.

"What do you mean _finally_? Have you always been thinking we are so different?"

The boy wanted to reply but something made him hesitant. Somehow he was trying to be fun while being careful about what he was going to say at the same time. Maybe he didn't want to upset her?

"Think about it for a second, Prez."

_It can't be, right?_ White spoke to herself. On the day they met each other two years ago, they were only two tenderfeet on a journey of their own. They were two independent kids who had a wonderful dream and tried their best to pursue it. For different reasons, they ended up together and were no longer alone on their path. And…

_And…_

_Mmmh…_

That aside, she couldn't think of anything else.

"Do you remember the first night we spent together?" he asked.

"Was it the night we pitched our tents on Team Plasma's construction site?" How could she ever forget it? That was the first time he called her _president._ "I couldn't sleep because of that."

"Exactly." Black nodded. "After that incident I couldn't sleep either though the reason might be a little different."

White could feel herself getting intensely curious to know more about Black. Was he going to add another into his _untold stories about me_ list?

"I still remember the sky that evening… it looked exactly like this. I lay in my tent but I couldn't sleep so I went for a walk. Don't worry, I left Warr and Tula behind to protect you, just in case."

The girl suddenly had a funny feeling inside her chest and pursed her lips to suppress an emotional _awwww_.

"And I thought about different things—my dream, those unusual things I noticed about Tula, and of course, you, Prez. A special girl appeared in my life out of nowhere, slept in a tent, had her pokémon sleep in a hotel and just like that, made me call her _president_. All of them in my head at once… can you believe how overloaded was I…"

"…Anyway, I couldn't imagine how fast things changed. I thought about the gravity of the situation, and I thought about you again. From the bottom of my heart, I really admired your passion to make your dream come true. I supposed you deserve to shine at the best studios in the world. Are you thinking I'm exaggerating too much considering we'd only known each other for half a day? No, I'm not. Not at all. That's a beautiful dream, and the way you were trying everyday—you'd won a lot of my respect!"

The girl could feel her heartbeat racing once again, not because she couldn't remember the last time Black was open about himself but the way he was talking about her with such tender words. No one had ever talked about her like that or understood her the enough to make such comments. Only the best of friends could talk about each other like that without making it super cringy, and the fact that it came from Black made it close to unbelievable. White could only feel it, but the thought she was more than a friend to Black kept giving her some fantasies about the both of them. Listening to these words from Black almost reduced her to tears. Deep down she only wanted to hold Black in her embrace and tell him…

_I wish we had more time together…_

"Since then, I'd known we're very different. It's like you and I belong to different worlds. Nevertheless, I'm glad we both wanted to know more about the other's world. We both tried to welcome each other to our own world. But I can't deny the fact that… I couldn't put it out of my mind… I…I don't want to talk about these things again but… geez, why did I even bring these up? Anyway, Prez, can you let me finish it? I don't think I'm going to have another opportunity."

"It's okay," the girl said, looking a little confused. "But what are you trying to say?"

Black sighed deeply and kept doing that many more times. White was patient enough to wait as she guessed Black was trying to choose the right words. It could be something he'd been wavering between telling her and not telling her at all.

"I know we've been a great team. That time when we travelled around Unova together is something I will never forget. But soon I realized it couldn't last forever. Correct me if I'm wrong but I think we were able to become a great team because we were both rookies. Well… maybe you weren't but I was. Once one of us has become successful, there's no way the other can keep up with the higher expectations. To put it simply, I can't find a place for myself around you now, Prez. I don't say it's completely impossible. It might need a lot of time but it's very, very difficult."

"Are you saying—"

"Because we're different and that can't be changed. And that's the point!"

White wasn't certain whether he was trying to imply something but she didn't mind listening to him more. The way Black talked about it was that of someone who'd been thinking about it very carefully for a long time. It appeared this was what had been troubled him and he finally got rid of it. White was happy he got to tell her and from her perspective, she could feel that he was trying to explain something more important.

"Hey, Prez," Black let out another sigh. "I think that's too much. I shouldn't have talked about this again; it wasn't really necessary but I couldn't stand not telling you. Just… don't read too much into what I say and forget it, if you can. Thank you for listening to me, though."

"If you keep talking like that…" It didn't take her more than one second to tell him exactly what she thought. "…you're going to make me mad."

"Woah, Prez… WOAH! I'm sorry, I—"

And the girl knew this time, she didn't do it without thinking. She did that because she wanted to, because she felt it was the right thing to correct that mistake she made a week ago, to be able to enjoy that warm feeling that merely holding hands was no longer enough, and hopefully, to tell him how much he meant to her.

"Pr—"

It was a quick hug—so quick that it ended before Black could react. The result wasn't a surprise: The two teenagers turned absolutely flushed and couldn't speak normally for a while. As for White, however, there was no time to get embarrassed because she didn't want Black to be the one talking about what just happened.

"Do not apologize for such stupid things."

"A-alright."

"Is it wrong if I tell you I want to hear more from you because I have always yearned to for two years? Two! Two-years! Do you know how long that was? So stop acting like you're..."

Just one more step and she could have crossed the line. The girl held her breath and managed to stop herself just in time.

"So please, just don't…" she said in a surprisingly calm voice.

"I get it," Black said.

"And I'm not angry."

White walked slowly in a circle because she needed a moment to recover her composure. That wasn't anger; the girl was just trying to be honest about her feelings. She just wanted Black to understand. She regretted exploding a little but she had to speak her mind. Those were her real emotions, something that couldn't simply be controlled or suppressed with ease.

"I get it. But I'm serious now, Prez… I'm sorry."

"It's okay."

It was Black who started it but she felt like she was partly at fault for ruining the mood. Now it wasn't easy to get it back. How worse could it be? It'd been a great evening so far, having dinner together was the best idea of the day, all to end up like this? What should she do now? What should she say?

It's true Black only wanted to underline the difference between them. Everything he'd done so far was because he wanted to protect their dreams from being shattered into pieces. White was well aware of it; it wasn't as if she never thought about it before and she respected his decision. It was about time it got mentioned again, even more than once. Certainly it wasn't going to be easy; however, having to face two conflicts at the same time, one conflict between hope and reality and the other between having to accept the way things happened and not wanting to accept it, would be too much for the young girl. Who wouldn't want to arrive at an easy and ideal solution? If it was that easy, there'd be no point in getting tense.

There was no way she could change his opinion.

…

"You're right."

"About what?" asked a bewildered Black.

"Everything you said is right. It makes sense. We're very different and so are the paths we chose. But I want to ask you one thing."

"Sure, what is it?"

"Is it a bad thing?"

She saw his face frowning at the question. White knew it wasn't a good question but she wanted to make it as straightforward as possible.

"You know I won't, and I can't say it's a bad thing. But it's also not a good thing, is it?"

"Really?" she smiled. "I think it's not a good thing but it's not bad, either."

"Wait, aren't they pretty much the same?" Black looked surprised.

"Maybe… maybe not."

White could see complete confusion in her friend's eyes. She was aware he told her about how he would get a headache if he needed to use his head too much so she just made sure it wouldn't happen.

"Look at Cheren and Bianca! Do you think they have anything in common? And they've dated for half a year. I mean… you surely don't just befriend people who're like you, don't you agree?"

"Yeah, but… I was talking about our dreams…"

"That's right. And you're right about one thing—we both tried to understand more about each other. But don't you think we both managed to change ourselves so that we started to cherish what the other's doing? I'm not saying pokémon battles are what I live for but I've always accepted their existence. And after I trained under Emmet and Ingo, it became an important part of me besides my own dreams…"

"…And it was like I found you inside me. I could feel you. We're like pieces of a jigsaw puzzle—different, but they complete each other."

Black slowly turned away. He perhaps didn't want her to see his face at that moment. White couldn't guess what her friend was thinking; she just hoped she didn't push her luck for nothing. And it wasn't like she was holding out too much hope for anything.

"I know this isn't going to change anything. I just want you to understand."

"I understand…" he lowered his voice to a whisper. "…and I know I said it once, but I really love your work, Prez. That's… that's all I can say now."

It was a strange moment when White almost misheard it. She put on a dazzling smile, knowing she somehow managed to clean the air.

"Thank you." Two simple words also made Black smile, his face blushing a little at the sunny girl in front of him. They could finally feel some relief. Sleepovers are meant to be enjoyed after all, and White was surprised how she never thought about _that_ until now.

…

"Black, let's get inside, I want to show you something."

The two teenagers entered White's room again. A small, tidy and pretty room, quite untypical of those seen on TV but one could still tell it was a girl's room.

"Have a look!" She reached into her bag and took out a leaflet.

"Hey, what is this? _Pokéstar Studios Movie Casting Call?" _Black read it out. "_Want to make your debut in Pokéstar Studios' upcoming project? We're looking for male and female actors…_ _We're coming to Black City for the first time… January... For more information, visit… _PREZ! You want me to—"

"Will you just listen already? The director of this project called me a short while ago. He asked me—of course he knows you're my friend—and he asked if I could persuade you to play a cameo role as yourself in his movie."

"Is he serious? I'm that famous—"

"And I said no. Let me tell you—it's not even worth it. They don't care about you or me, they just want to get some attention for the movie. And I thought you don't have time for that."

"Oh…"

Black seemed a little disappointed. The president felt sorry for denting his enthusiasm but she found him adorable when puffing out his cheeks like that. It's a pity she couldn't allow herself to enjoy it.

"I'm one of the judges and I'll be in Black City next week. We're going to audition over 500 people so it'll take a few days. What I want you to know is, there is a training facility called the Black Tower there. So…"

The girl breathed in deeply. How many times had she done it today?

"… do you want to go there with me next week? To Black City… The place is fantastic for training. I will do my own job and after that, we… we can eat together… mostly in the evenings because I'll be awfully busy during daytime. And we can stay a few days longer after I've finished everything so we can… do some sightseeing or… whatever… i-i-if you want… t-together…" White realized she was stuttering badly. "That's if you want to."

"Just like before?" his voice shook with disbelief.

"Yeah." She slowly repeated his words. "Just like before."

She thought it would be difficult; it turned out she was wrong. Observing the changes in his reaction from bafflement to surprise, and finally his whole face glowed with happiness—it was more than a reward. It meant more than a simple—

"Yes, yes. YES! Absolutely yes. You hear me, Prez? Are you serious? I can't believe it!"

"I hear you…"

"My goodness! This is really happening? Arghhhh, I can't wait!"

"Me neither…"

And the president could feel tears quickly welling up in her eyes. Those were the tears of genuine happiness that she wasn't prepared for. She did it; she just did it without even thinking about the odds he would accept it. Black was celebrating and punching the air hysterically; the girl, meanwhile, quietly turned away and wiped a falling tear on her cheek.

"Wait, people actually name a city after me?" Black suddenly stopped his celebration, his arms folded across his chest. "And a building, too?"

"I'm not sure but who knows? There's even a placed called the White Forest in Unova."

"What? Don't you tell me there's a huge white tree there!"

"But there is!"

"No way!"

…

They had planned to stay up all night to talk about everything in the world, play some games or watch one or two movies together. However, the instant she noticed Black trying to hide a big yawn when he turned away, she made him go to sleep despite his strong objections. The futon was ready on the floor. Black's persistent refusal to follow his president's order got easily crushed; her reason for it was he had agreed to get up early the next morning to catch the ferry to Castelia City from Virbank City. He could have simply chosen to fly straight home on Warr's back but after knowing of the ferry service, Black quickly changed his mind because he'd love to try new things.

"If you ever let me see you lack of sleep again, I'm not going to take you with me next week."

Black quickly pulled the blanket up to his chin, his mouth still mumbling something like _yeah, yeah _and _look who's talking _but White had gone to turn off the light, pretending not to hear anything.

"Goodnight, Prez!"

"Goodnight!"

She was lying on her bed and waiting until the only sound left in the quiet night was the sound of Black breathing steadily. Only then was she certain he was fast asleep.

Ever since many months ago, when she finally moved back home because the Pokéstar Studios was not far from here, she'd tried to recover from the shock of losing her best friend though only partly. The feeling of familiarity was much appreciated; it felt much better than all the cold, empty hotel rooms she was in on business trips. It was here that held many of her childhood memories—those she treasured and wasn't afraid of. However, at night, sleep talking had become her worst fear, even more than that recurring nightmare of her final moment with Black that woke her up most of the time, because her parents could hear it and they were afraid of her mental collapse. They weren't inarticulate speeches; it was like a horror movie and that scene of the worst ending kept playing night after night. Luckily, she could still manage to stay sagacious enough to keep moving forward and wait until the day she could witness the fruit of her hard work.

As quietly as she could, White popped her head out of the blanket and sat up a little. It was the second time she saw Black sleep in one week; he was still having that smile on his face. No longer haunted by those nightmares every night; right here, right now, only a few steps away on the floor, Black was sleeping soundly with his soft snores like those of a puppy's. All sadness and weariness seemed to have disappeared into thin air; she could stay like this and watch him sleep the whole night.

_I promise I'll never let anything happen to you._

And she had her most restful, well-deserved sleep after a long time.

…

"I will see you again next week."

It sounded like a question though it was definitely a statement. That was White's goodbye to Black when she went to see him off at Virbank City's ferry terminal. No matter how hard she tried to hide the worry in her voice, she couldn't stop herself from shaking badly every time she thought about the parting. It just got even worse when Black gave her his goodbye bear hug.

"I will see you again next week." Black literally repeated everything she said. "I promise."

"I'm looking forward to it."

Black gave her a smile so genuinely sweet that she forgot she was shaking. All White could do was naturally returning his smile with a sunny, satisfied one of her own. The ferry horn was echoing in the air, signaling his departure was near.

"Alright! Goodbye, Prez!"

And he stepped onto the deck. Most of the passengers that morning were commuters which means they had no reason to stay outside apart from Black who was leaning on the railing and waving at his president. She was getting too emotional to wave back and could only stare at her friend without even thinking about leaving first.

…

"PRE—"

The ferry sounded another deafening horn and with that, it was ready to speed up and head towards the Unovan mainland. Black stopped waving at White which made her a little curious; she thought she heard Black screaming something and it looked like he really was but he was already too far. She remembered giving him his toothbrush he left in the bathroom before leaving so…

_Vrrrrrrrrrrrrr!_ The girl jumped because her Xtransceiver suddenly vibrated to signal an incoming call from Black. White was even more surprised as he had never called her before. She quickly pressed the button to receive the call and immediately saw Black's face on her device's screen.

"Black? Did you leave something behind?"

"NO!" He almost shouted at her through his own Xtransceiver.

"What's that noise from your side?"

"WHAT? Oh, it's the horn!"

"Then get inside. I can barely hear you."

"NO! I forgot to ask you one thing, and I want to do it now while looking at you. Look over here!"

The girl lifted her head from the device on her wrist and saw Black waving crazily at her again. He only stopped when he finally had her attention.

"Prez," Black was now shouting loudly as if doing so would close the distance between them. "I know I'm no longer working for you but… please allow me to keep introducing myself as your employee. A BW Agency's employee."

"Huh?" Her eyes rounded in surprise. "But you don't have to!"

"Come on, there's no harm in that, right? Please, Prez!"

"O-okay, then… but why?"

And through her Xtrainsceiver, she could see his face stretch into a victorious smile, one could only be seen when he'd just won the most important battles.

"Because I haven't fulfilled my promise yet."

"But what promise are you talking… about..."

What could it be other than _that promise_? There was only one promise, how could the girl forget it? She remembered _it _before she finished her sentence.

"This promise..." Black grinned broadly, having his hands around his mouth to form a megaphone.

_You're not—_

"I STAND BEFORE YOU AS THE NEW CHAMPION OF UNOVA. MY NAME IS BLACK, AND I'M THE BEST EMPLOYEE THE BW AGENCY HAS EVER HAD. ANYTHING FROM ACTING IN DRAMAS, FILMS, ADS AND PLAYS, LEAVE IT TO THE BW AGENCY…"

Even an emotional president couldn't keep a straight face. She covered her mouth with the other hand as she couldn't believe that just happened. Black was still Black; it couldn't be changed. Even White herself had never taken that promise seriously enough but Black never called it a joke. Now that she thought about it, the promise was the testament to their friendship. Just thinking about there still existed something that kept the bonds between them unbreakable was truly heartening.

"… YOU'D BETTER CONTACT MS. WHITE THE BW AGENCY'S PRESIDENT BECAUSE IF YOU DON'T, I'M GONNA FIND YA AND I'M GONNA GETCHA!"

And White could see even if Black only had one last hope to cling to, he refused to stop hoping for a future where they could become a great team again. No, even more than that, the best team ever. No one taxes dreams so…

_Go for it, White! You know that! Go for it!_

"Ahhh, it feels so good… Hehe, thank you, Prez! I'll call you when I'm home. See ya!"

And Black hung up. It was when White could no longer recognize his silhouette because the ferry had gone too far. All that was left was a small black dot on the horizon before it was swallowed completely by the rising sun and disappeared.

"No… thank you for everything."

…

_I know it may only be a dream but I want to dream with you._

_It's my dream from now on that we could be together again. _

…

_One week… one more week until her last adventure with Black. It was not going to have a fairy-tale ending but she was ready to write the last chapter of this old book._

_And what'd happen after that?_

_Only time could answer, but this was definitely not the end._

The president never realized the same path she took every day to the Pokéstar Studios could be so colorful.

_(The end)_

* * *

**This story was supposed to have only 5 chapters but look at chapter 5! I couldn't feature both povs there so we have a sixth chapter. Btw, after everything, I couldn't bring myself to give it a bad ending… welp, maybe it's still bad but I'm a fan of positivity so here you go! **

**And if there's anyone following this story from the beginning, you perhaps have realized there was a FOUR-MONTH HIATUS. I'm so sorry :'( I think I should commit sudoku to restore my honor but then I won't be able to write about my children anymore so… uwu **

**Anyway, the past few months have been really crazy and I'm going to have my first full-time job soon (hopefully) so… until next time ;) thanks for reading!**


End file.
